ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

New Democrats

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair presented his party as the only one with the backbone to walk away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership during a six-stop campaign blitz through southwestern Ontario. Mulcair promised that an NDP government “will not be bound by this secret agreement that Mr. Harper has been negotiating.” He honed in on the Liberal position after comments by a Liberal candidate who said Saturday her party would not echo the NDP’s position that they wouldn’t feel tied to an agreement. Throughout his tour of the region, Mulcair told crowds that the Conservative government has failed Ontario’s agricultural and industrial heartland, and presented his party as the only true alternative for change.

Liberals

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau staged a massive rally Sunday in Brampton, Ont., where he positioned himself as a builder of bridges to counter Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s habit of dividing the country. Speaking in a local sports and entertainment complex, Trudeau said it was time to end the Conservative government’s practice of pitting Canadians against each other. “The prime minister’s job is to bring Canadians together, not to tear us apart,” he said. Regarding the TransPacific Partnership negotiations, he said he would look at the content of a signed deal before deciding whether to uphold it, while asserting that his party was in favour of trade.