MONTREAL -- Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is promising new money for two big transit projects in Montreal.

Ahead of Friday's leaders debate in the city, Trudeau says a Liberal government would help fund a light-rail line on the Champlain Bridge and rapid transit to the West Island.

Trudeau has been on the defensive over his plans to run deficits, and is pointing to infrastructure projects as an area that would benefit from his spending plan.

He is promising $20 billion over a decade in new funding for transit alone.

Trudeau made the announcement in Lac-Saint-Louis, a longtime Liberal stronghold and one of the few Montreal seats the Liberals held in 2011.