Trudeau asks voters for a majority
Liberal leader, who has been rising in the polls, doesn’t want to get overconfident
HAMILTON— Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he is hoping for a majority mandate from Canadians on Monday.
Trudeau, whose party has climbed steadily upward in the polls since August, said he doesn’t want to get over-confident but has hopes to form a strong government in Ottawa after Oct. 19.
“I know that Canadians will make the right decision,” Trudeau said in answer to a reporter’s question.
“Am I asking Canadians to vote for us? Yes. Am I asking them to vote for us across the country? Yes. Am I asking them for a majority government? Yes.”
It was the first time in the campaign the Liberal leader, whose party held only 36 seats in Parliament when the election was called, has talked about the possibility of winning a majority government. That would require winning 170 seats in the House of Commons, which has been expanded to 338 seats for this election.
The Liberals, who staged a boisterous rally with 500 people in Ajax Wednesday night, have taken the lead in many opinion polls, and Trudeau has drawn overflow crowds of hopeful, sometimes adoring supporters in one of his last swings through southern Ontario before voting day.
“This government is out of ideas, this government is out of touch and the good news is, if we stay focused and work hard, in just a few days they’ll also be out of time,” Trudeau tells his audiences.
Liberals were quick to point out that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has also called on voters several times to deliver a majority for his party.
Trudeau continues to take aim at ridings where the Conservatives or NDP are popular, hoping to expand Liberal support by prying away discontented Tories and New Democrats who would vote strategically to defeat the Conservatives.
In Ajax, former Liberal MP Mark Holland is challenging Conservative candidate Chris Alexander, who defeated Holland in 2011. Stephanie Brown is running for the NDP and the Green candidate is Jeff Hill.
On Wednesday, Trudeau also vis- ited the riding of Hamilton West— Ancaster—Dundas, a new electoral district containing some areas that have traditionally favoured the NDP. He also did events in Niagara Centre, which the NDP held before the election was called, and Conservative-held St. Catharines riding.
Trudeau is sharply criticizing Harper over Conservative statements and advertisements suggesting the election of a Liberal government would lead to the legalization of brothels and a proliferation of marijuana stores.
“We’ve seen over the course of this campaign — and indeed over the course of Mr. Harper’s government — that he never misses an opportunity to divide, to play up fear and division and even to directly mislead Canadians,” he told reporters.
Canadians are tired of this, Trudeau stated, adding: “It’s up to Mr. Harper to explain why he’s choosing to mislead Canadians about me.”
The Liberals, noting a majority of the public favour an easing of pot laws, have said they would legalize marijuana for those over 18. In the campaign, Trudeau has not taken a stance on prostitution. The Conservative suggestion that a Liberal government would set the stage for more selling of sex is based on the fact the Liberals did not support Bill C-36, the anti-prostitution legislation brought forward by the Harper government after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled existing prostitution laws were unconstitutional.
In Hamilton, Trudeau announced a Liberal government would spend more than $400 million a year to improve youth education and job prospects for young people.
“It is time for a government that is focused on young Canadians. That is why, as part of the Liberal plan to create jobs, grow the economy, and help the middle class, we will immediately invest in young Canadians,” Trudeau said.
The plan, which has already been accounted for in the Liberals’ fiscal projections, would assist employers to create more co-op job placements, set up 40,000 youth jobs annually through a Youth Employment Strategy, increase maximum student loans for low-income students and delay repayment of all student loans until a graduate earns income of at least $25,000 a year.