Trudeau campaign rolls into the Beach

Supporters greet Liberal leader Justin Trudeau outside a Queen Street cafe on Oct. 13. Less than a week before the Oct. 19 election, Trudeau chose the Beach for his only scheduled speech of the day.
PHOTO: Andrew Hudson

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau got a double-take from Queen streetcar riders this morning when he made a campaign stop at The Beacher Café.

Hundreds of supporters packed the Beach café and surrounding sidewalk where, six days before the Oct. 19 vote, Trudeau made his only scheduled speech of the day.

Introduced by local Liberal candidate Nathaniel-Erskine Smith, Trudeau began by noting that nearly two million Canadians voted in advance polls over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Trudeau then spoke about the Liberal plan for three years of deficit spending to boost economic growth.

Trudeau speaks to supporters gathered at a Queen Street cafe on the morning of Oct. 13. Joining Trudeau were local Liberal candidates Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who is running in Beaches-East York, and Bill Blair, who is running in Scarborough-Southwest.
PHOTO: Victor Biro

“We need to invest in transit, we need to invest in affordable housing,” he said. “We need to have a federal government that is an active and present partner, putting money on the table so our cities like Toronto can continue to grow and flourish.”

Trudeau, who has already said he would not support a minority Conservative government if that is the outcome of the Oct. 19 election, was asked whether he might allow such a government to continue by abstaining from the next confidence vote.

“I got into politics because I disagree deeply with the vision that Stephen Harper has for this country,” he replied. “There is no circumstance in which I could either support him or even stand back and allow him to continue.”