For the second straight day, Justin Trudeau was in Simcoe County looking to drum up support for the federal Liberals.
On Friday, the Liberal leader took off his tie and rolled-up his sleeves to speak with young voters at Georgian College.
“I think he does have a way that he’s able to connect with people. I think he’s always been trying to encourage young people to become involved politically and he’s very approachable the way he speaks,” says student Kathy Rideout.
The federal election campaign hasn’t officially started but the visit did have a campaign stop feel to it. This was Trudeau’s second day in our area after his visit to the International Plowing Match in Ivy on Thursday.
On Friday morning, he met with local municipal leaders but he made sure there was time for the students in the afternoon.
“Getting young people involved in politics isn’t just about getting a few more votes although of course that’s nice. It’s also about making sure the kind of issues that we’re dealing with at the political levels is serious, substantive and long-term,” says Trudeau.
Many students admit they are new to politics. Many say they feel a connection with Trudeau because of his age. Nathan Brown doesn’t know how he’ll vote for next year but says he was impressed.
“He has a very warm mannerism, like he knows he’s talking about,” says Brown. “I feel like he does his homework and you know I like that.”
Trudeau knows this area has historically been conservative and also knows he needs to make inroads in areas like in order to have any shot.
“The face is with 37 seats in the House of Commons there are a lot of areas across the country that the Liberal party needs to work very, very hard.”
The 42nd Canadian federal election is scheduled for October 19, 2015.
