Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government’s plan to help more middle class families has already been successful.

Trudeau, joined by Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman, took over the East Bayfield Community Centre on Thursday to talk about the Liberal government’s Canada Child Benefit.

“I wanted to get a sense of what families in Barrie and right across the country are doing with their new Canada Child Benefit. Exactly one year ago today parents started receiving bigger monthly cheques to help with the high costs of raising their kids,” Trudeau told the crowd.  “The old child care system was broken, so we fixed it.”

Trudeau also met privately with Lehman to talk about the affordable housing crisis in Simcoe County.

“What I pressed him on is the national housing strategy to move money to constructing new units. We’re not going to solve this issue with dozens of units, we need hundreds of units of social housing,” Lehman says.

Lehman believes Trudeau understands the issue from a municipality’s point-of-view.

“We are hopeful in Barrie that through the housing strategy we’ll start to see those dollars turn into units soon than later.”

It was also no secret that the Prime Minister’s closed door visit involved questions about Lehman’s future. Barrie’s mayor says Trudeau inquired about his future, to which he replied, it’s a little too early to say.

Trudeau’s trip to Barrie was overshadowed not just by the rain, but by the controversy surrounding his pick for Governor General.

A search through an American-based background check website shows Julie Payette faced a second-degree assault charge in Maryland.

 “I can assure everyone there are no issues that arose in the course of that vetting process that would be any reason to expect Mme. Payette to be anything other than the extraordinary Governor General she will be,” Trudeau said.

The charge was ultimately dismissed and has been called an “unfounded” allegation by Payette.