Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 17, 2015
Trudeau and Mulcair today: Compare and contrast
Major speeches by NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau today served up an intriguing contrast. Mulcair sought to soothe anyone worried about the sort of economic change an NDP government might bring. Trudeau tried to reignite interest, especially among progressive voters whose enthusiasm for him might be waning, by promising Liberals would usher in big change in Canadian democracy.
The two men vying to be seen as the most viable alternative to Prime Minister Stephen Harper clearly face different challenges. Mulcair is on the rise in the polls, and his aim—as he delivered an economic policy speech in Toronto at the Economic Club of Canada—seemed to be to forestall a worried reaction to his emergence as a serious challenger.
But Trudeau has slipped in recent months, after a long stretch leading the polls, creating what’s shaping up as a tight three-way race with Harper’s Conservatives and Mulcair’s NDP. His goal in a speech to assembled Parliament Hill reporters at Ottawa’s Château Laurier was to reignite interest in his leadership with at least one promise that can’t be ignored.
And both took the opportunity to shore up their policy messages with a little personal narrative, the sort that modern political strategists view as essential to connecting with voters. (Continued: Maclean’s)
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Published in The Winnipeg Free Press, Brandon Sun, The Woodstock Sentinel Review, and Red Deer Advocate