Trudeaumania is alive and well in Delta.
About 2,000 fans, well-wishers and party faithful showed up to hear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speak at a community barbecue thrown by local Liberal Party volunteers.
The excitement in the air was palpable leading up to Trudeau鈥檚 speech at Didar Blueberry Farm on 104th Street in East Delta. The road was backed up in both directions as thousands of people made their way onto the property, parking a 10-minute walk from the barbecue itself and walking through the berry fields to catch a glimpse and maybe even snap a selfie with the prime minister.
The crowd cheered loudly during opening remarks from Minister of National Defence and Vancouver South MP Harjit Sajjan, and again as Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility and Delta MP Carla Qualtrough brought the prime minister up on stage.
Trudeau began by praising the hard work of Liberal Party volunteers and officially announcing Qualtrough as the party鈥檚 candidate for Delta in the upcoming federal election.
Trudeau went on to delivered a speech tailored for the crowd of Liberal supporters, one touting the government鈥檚 accomplishments over the past nearly three years.
鈥淭here are folks out there who think that this government hasn鈥檛 delivered enough for people, that we鈥檙e more focused on selfies than we are on substance,鈥 Trudeau said looking over a sea of cell phones and smiling faces.
He went on to list a number of things the government has done during its term in office, including the Canada Child Benefit, increasing the guaranteed income supplement for seniors, and re-opening veterans centres closed by the previous Conservative administration.
鈥淭ell that to young people who now don鈥檛 have to start paying back their student debts until they鈥檙e making $25,000 a year, with more up-front grants, more jobs, more help for our young people,鈥 Trudeau continued. 鈥淎nd tell that to people who understand that we as a country need to hit our Paris targets. We need to show that leadership on the environment and growing the economy goes together. That鈥檚 what British Columbians understand, that鈥檚 what Canadians understand.鈥
Trudeau used the latter part of his roughly five-minute speech calling for cooperation and positivity in politics, especially in the run up to the federal election in 2019.
鈥淲e have an awful lot of hard work to do and we only do it by working together, by leaning on each other, by pushing back against the politics of fear and division, the old ways that are trying to attack the people, forcing false choices,鈥 the prime minister said. 鈥淲e know that listening to others, respecting each other and focus on pulling people together is the only way to build a stronger future for us all, and that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e going to do.鈥
鈥淲e need to send that clear message that the politics of pettiness, of personal attacks, of negativity has no place in Canada, and at the same time we鈥檒l demonstrate right around the world that politics that are positive and thoughtful and focused on bringing people together is the only way to build a better world,鈥 Trudeau continued. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a message that鈥檚 more important now than it ever has been.鈥
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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