THUNDER BAY – The performance of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau during the first debate of the federal election campaign has earned the praise of two Thunder Bay-Superior North candidates.
Green Party candidate Bruce Hyer joined Liberal candidate Patty Hajdu in offering strong reviews of Trudeau, who appeared in his first campaign debate. Hyer commended Trudeau for his poise and ability to confront Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair during Thursday night’s forum.
“I was particularly impressed with what an effective job Justin did on calling out both Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair on a variety of issues,” Hyer said on Friday.
“I was really interested in how neatly Justin skewered Mulcair on having different messaging in Quebec and Ontario and in French and English…I thought Justin did a really superb job of nailing him on that.”
Hyer specifically cited a portion of the debate where Trudeau questioned Mulcair’s differing promises on an east-west pipeline and whether the long-gun registry will make a comeback.
NDP candidate Andrew Foulds countered Hyer’s assertion Mulcair lacks a plan, insisting the NDP leader, who has shot to or near the top of a number of national polls, is prepared to tackle the country’s biggest issues.
“Certainly in Thunder Bay-Superior North the economy and jobs is the number one issue. He had concrete examples to improve the economy, for example investment in infrastructure and support for municipalities,” Foulds said.
“He talked about providing strong support for small businesses who are economic drivers and he talked about things like innovation incentives which rewards those particularly green technologies in terms of where we want to move our sustainable economy in the future.”
Hajdu paid particular attention to Trudeau criticizing Harper for engaging in standoffs with some provincial leaders, such as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and new Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.
The pledge by Trudeau for renewed relationships if the Liberals were to form the next government is a breath of fresh air.
“He demonstrated true leadership value. One of the things that really stood out for me is he’s focused on collaboration with the premiers and he really talked about that need to collaborate across Canada,” Hajdu said.
Conservative candidate Richard Harvey was unavailable for comment.
The Maclean’s debate, which also included Green Party Elizabeth May, came less than a week after the writ was formally drawn up for the first federal election since 2011.
Harper and May are the only two leaders from that campaign to lead their parties into battle this time.
The debate could be the only one in which May joins the other three leaders, something Hyer called a “real shame” and said “it’s not very democratic.”
Both Hajdu and Foulds said they would support May’s participation in future debates, as well as the inclusion of Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe who was absent on Thursday.
