Full caveat: I’ve only been on the Trudeau beat since the writ dropped Sunday, so I have no comparisons to other parties.

But one of the things that’s struck me over the past few days covering the Liberal Leader is the energy -- and a more assertive tone. He’s been showing more fight since he officially launched his campaign. 

True, he’s trailing in the polls. And true, many are speculating the NDP threatens to squeeze out the Liberals. But Trudeau is showing he’s ready for battle. 

Tuesday I was at his event in Mississauga. Here’s some of the energy I was talking about. Yes -- that’s Prince playing in the background.

 

When DJs are asked to play music at political events, what songs do they spin? Omar Sachedina asked the DJ at a Justin Trudeau campaign stop today.

Posted by CTV News on Tuesday, August 4, 2015

While I was waiting around for Trudeau to show up, asked a few questions about the music. I wanted to know if the DJ was instructed to play certain types of songs, or in a certain order. Music is very important in campaign events. Here's how a prominent magazine dissected Obama’s musical choices during his re-election campaign. 

The goal is to get people revved and give them something to connect to. So I chatted with the DJ. Turns out, he pretty much has free reign. Here’s Vincent Bertucci from Symmetry Studios:

 

 
Campaign Music

When DJs are asked to play music at political events, what songs do they spin? Omar Sachedina asked the DJ at a Justin Trudeau campaign stop today.

Posted by CTV News on Tuesday, August 4, 2015

When Trudeau showed up, he pulled up in a bus.

As for the substance of what Trudeau talked about, he said Stephen Harper’s plan for the economy isn’t working, and voting for the status quo (i.e. Harper) is therefore a risk. He again called Tom Mulcair’s economic plan a “mirage.”

He said Mulcair talks about a National Minimum Wage, but that it only affects workers in Federally Regulated industries like banks and airlines - not the “99 per cent” (his math) of Canadians who actually need it.

A more colourful moment came during the question and answer period. Stephen Harper has started referring to Trudeau only by his first name, Justin.

Some have suggested this is a concerted effort to chip away at Trudeau’s credibility and his father’s political heft, and make him look like a boy next to two more senior politicians. Take this Conservative attack ad that launched overnight, for example: “Justin thinks budgets balance themselves,” a voice in the ad says. But the ad refers to the NDP leader by his full name: Thomas Mulcair.

When I asked him for his reaction to the name issue, Trudeau didn’t bite. He ignored the question -- and started talking about the economy. When another reporter asked him to react again, he said it was a distraction. The non-reply and the sort-of-reply show that this is a guy who wants to be the one setting the agenda -- not Stephen Harper.

He also wants to stick to what's emerging as the key theme of this campaign: the economy (and Liberals as a champion for the middle class).

As for what the Conservatives are saying about calling Trudeau by his first name -- they're playing it down. From Conservative campaign spokesman Kory Teneycke:

"The Liberal party invested a lot of money branding him as Justin," he said. "And not surprisingly that’s how most Canadians know him.”