Full caveat: I鈥檝e 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鈥檚 struck me over the past few days covering the Liberal Leader is the energy -- and a more assertive tone. He鈥檚 been showing more fight since he officially launched his campaign.
True, he鈥檚 trailing in the polls. And true, many are speculating the NDP threatens to squeeze out the Liberals. But Trudeau is showing he鈥檚 ready for battle.
Tuesday I was at his event in Mississauga. Here鈥檚 some of the energy I was talking about. Yes -- that鈥檚 Prince playing in the background.
"I wanna be your lover" by Prince playing b4 event in Mississauga.
鈥� Omar Sachedina (@omarsachedina)
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 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 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鈥檚 Vincent Bertucci from Symmetry Studios:
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 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鈥檚 plan for the economy isn鈥檛 working, and voting for the status quo (i.e. Harper) is therefore a risk. He again called Tom Mulcair鈥檚 economic plan a 鈥渕irage.鈥�
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 鈥�99 per cent鈥� (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.
this is a concerted effort to chip away at Trudeau鈥檚 credibility and his father鈥檚 political heft, and make him look like a boy next to two more senior politicians. Take this Conservative for example: 鈥淛ustin thinks budgets balance themselves,鈥� 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鈥檛 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鈥檚 how most Canadians know him.鈥�
