Trudeau is a polarizing name in Quebec; the Liberal leader knows it, too. To give you a sense of how fortunes have turned here, consider this: after the 2008 election, the Liberals had 14 seats in Quebec. Three years later -- after the 2011 election -- that number was cut in half. Outside of Montreal it's going to be a tough battle for Trudeau. But in the city, he has support. And that's where he focused his attention today.
This morning, Justin Trudeau again responded to Stephen Harper's latest security proposal to ban travel to terror zones. He said it wasn't a serious a plan and dismissed it as "electoral posturing." Remember after Trudeau supported the controversial anti-terror bill, C-51, he got a lot of heat from Liberal supporters. He promised to repeal certain sections if elected to government, but politically he still took a hit. At the debate, Trudeau admitted that his "nuanced" position on C-51 was "naive." By coming out strong against Harper's travel ban proposal, he distances himself from the Conservative leader.
The other thing Trudeau talked about is how Harper's proposal is a distraction. By keeping a laser-focus on the economy, the Trudeau camp wants to draw attention to Harper's economic record, and the fact that Canada could be slipping into another recession.
In the evening, Trudeau had a rally at Montreal's l'Astral. The Liberal Party says the hall, with a capacity of 600 people, was at capacity. Trudeau's wife, Sophie, and two of his children were with him. There was a lot of energy, which has been typical of the rallies I've been to. Here’s a picture:
After, I asked him about Mario Tremblay. He's the Liberal candidate from Manicouagan, who was seeking the nomination, posted on Facebook that he supported the PQ provincially, but was running for the Liberals federally to best represent his region. Then, a few days ago, in another post, he said that it was an unauthorized campaign volunteer who posted that message. Today, I asked Trudeau about it after this evening rally, and he said he has "nothing but federalists running for us" across Canada.
As for what happened to that campaign volunteer, no one within the party can seem to answer that.
Tuesday, Trudeau will be in Papineau, which is the riding he's running in.
