Trudeau campaigns in bid to flip tough riding
A byelection candidate Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau stumped for in Eastern Ontario Tuesday says she believes their party is gaining momentum in territory the Conservatives have owned for 14 years.
On a quick afternoon outing, Trudeau and Mary Jean McFall first greeted supporters at a coffee shop in Kemptville, where about 75 people in an overflow crowd waited outside in damp snow for selfies and handshakes.
A win in Leeds- Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes would take a big reversal of the Liberals’ recent fortunes there.
The riding was previously held by Gord Brown, a Conservative MP who died suddenly of a heart attack earlier this year. He’d won the seat comfortably in every election since 2004; McFall gave him his closest race in the 2015 campaign but still lost by almost 4,000 votes. The Tories are running local councillor and party activist Michael Barrett in Brown’s place.
Standing on a chair and speaking to about 50 supporters inside the crammed Geronimo coffee house, Trudeau said this is a good time to talk about the community’s and the country’s futures. He said that in Canadian and global politics alike, people are emphasizing how we’re different from each other but that politics should be about bringing people together.
For her part, McFall thanked Trudeau for coming to the riding, calling him the Liberals’ “fearless leader.”
After less than half an hour in Kemptville, Trudeau and McFall moved on to Richard’s Coffeehouse down the highway in Brockville, the St. Lawrence River city where McFall was once a councillor herself.
“We are so energized that Justin Trudeau came into our riding,” McFall said in Brockville, adding that she believes the Liberals have gained momentum in the region.