Trudeau rallies troops in Windsor
PM kicks off two-day visit to city with address at Liberal fundraiser
Between the creation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the groundbreaking for construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge Friday, this is a “big week for Windsor,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a crowd of local supporters Thursday night.
As part of a two-day visit to the city, Trudeau greeted about 150 people attending the $1,000-aticket Liberal Party fundraiser at the Art Gallery of Windsor. “This is a big week for Canada but really it’s a big week for Windsor,” Trudeau told the crowd, which included Mayor Drew Dilkens, former provincial Liberal cabinet minister Sandra Pupatello and city Coun. Bill Marra. “Between the USMCA and the groundbreaking of the Gordie Howe Bridge tomorrow (Friday), this is a day to celebrate here in Windsor and I’m glad to celebrate with all of you tonight.” Trudeau said he always enjoys coming to Windsor, particularly his first adult visit almost 20 years ago.
“I remember coming down here for my best friend Gerry Butts’ wedding, marrying Jodi HeimpelButts. She’s here as well,” Trudeau said.
“This was pretty much an opportunity as an adult — I’m pretty sure I had been here with my dad — but discovering Windsor as a city, getting to know people, and appreciating it over the years as I get to come back, it’s been a real joy, and I look forward to coming back an awful lot over the next 12 months to make sure we’re building the right kind of team and moving forward in a strong way to recognize the importance of having a strong voice for Windsor and the region within the Government of Canada.”
Trudeau said there are many challenges that need to be addressed in the Oct. 21, 2019 election.
“One of the very first things we did was recognize, even before we became government, that there was a challenge in this country, shared by a lot of western democracies around the world, that the middle class felt that it wasn’t part of the growing economy,” Trudeau told the crowd.
“It wasn’t part of the benefits of the growth that we’ve seen in our countries over the past few decades. And that was something we needed to turn around.” Trudeau said his government met that challenge by reducing taxes on the middle class and increasing them for the top one per cent of earners.
“And then we turned around a few months later and we delivered a Canada Child Benefit that helped nine out of 10 Canadian families and lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty,” Trudeau said. “And that makes a huge difference. More than just being about redistribution, which is one of those things that makes a lot of people fearful, it was about giving confidence to a middle class that was worried about its future, worried about its retirement, but also worried about its kids’ future, its kids’ possibilities.” Trudeau said his government has brought the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and has spurred the creation of 500,000 jobs.
Another issue Trudeau expects to be an important one in the election is climate change. “We’re seeing extreme weather events, whether it’s wildfires of floods, we know we are going to have to adjust and adapt,” he said. “But we also know that, as we lead the way for the transition to cleaner energies, as we develop the technologies we need to be successful, we should be looking at these with optimism and understanding that protecting the environment and growing the economy must go together, and that’s exactly what we are focused on. And we will stay focused on,” Trudeau said.
The last time Trudeau visited the region was on Canada Day, when he flew into Windsor and went to Leamington to tour the town’s Highbury Canco plant.