Liberals eye ‘changing’ Alberta electorate, see Trudeau as leader heading into next election

On the third and final day of the first in-person Liberal convention in five years, politicians and delegates came together to map out the future of the party, with a number of ministers backing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he heads into what would be his fourth election campaign. Liberal MP Rob Oliphant (Don Valley West, Ont.) told The Hill Times he thought there were 20 or 25 ridings that the party needed to focus on, particularly in the west. “For me personally, it’s urban west, it’s suburban west,” said Oliphant. “Alberta is changing—it’s more multicultural, more progressive, more interesting than 20 years ago, and so I think there is movement there,” said Oliphant. As for the inevitable showdown between Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (Carleton, Ont.) and Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) whenever the next election is called, Oliphant said the Conservative leader offers a contrast, and that he’s “very articulate and very clever with words.” “And the prime minister is authentic, and looks at how hard governing is,” said Oliphant. The parliamentary secretary of foreign affairs also said that he thought the party “underestimated the anger and the frustration and the fear in that COVID period,” said Oliphant. “And so I think that the natural instinct for those voters was that their backs were up, and we lost some of their votes, but I think now people are recognizing that we managed the situation well.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at at the Liberal National Convention in early May, 2023. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia Liberal MPs George Chahal (Calgary Skyview, Alta.), Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay-Lacolle, Que.), Julie Dzerowic (Davenport, Ont.), and Tim Louis (Kitchener-Conestoga, Ont. ) took part in a 1 p.m. “Organizing and Readiness Panel: Winning Close Races” on May 6, the last day of the convention. Media was not allowed into the session, but in conversations with cabinet minsters and party members throughout the afternoon, including with Treasury Board President Mona Fortier (Ottawa-Vanier, Ont.), The Hill Times heard that that the party was “on the right path” and that the minister believed in grassroots politics. “Bringing people together—every riding counts—we all know that, and making sure that we can reach out to Canadians and not only listen to them, but at the same time share how we can make sure everybody’s part of it,” Fortier said in an interview on the second floor of the Shaw Centre on Saturday afternoon. Fortier said the prime minister was “pretty clear in his messaging that 'if we all work together, we can really move into the next years of being the best country in the world.'” The Treasury Board President said Poilievre “believes that everything's broken, and it's unfortunate.” “So I'm more on the optimistic, positive side, and giving everybody a chance to participate is what I believe in,” said the minister. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told The Hill Times that “I think what we need to do is show Canadians that we're the best suited party to continue being the government, that we have their best interests at heart and that we are working to build the Canada of the future, in terms of the environment, in terms of the economy, in terms of jobs, in terms of transit and transportation.” The minister noted that he had voted earlier in the day on a number of party proposals, “six or seven” of which were about climate change, adaptation, and resiliency. “While the Conservatives are debating whether or not climate change is even real, while we have floodings in Quebec and have people being evacuated out of Edmonton because of forest fires, it’s already extremely dry in B.C., and the summer hasn't even started,” said Guilbeault. “I think that we are showing that this is an issue. And clearly this is an issue Canadians care deeply about. And the majority of parliamentarians in the House of Commons are firmly of the opinion that we need to do something about climate change,” said the minister. Guilbeault said the prime minister “remains the best chance we have at forming the next government, and he's ready.” “We still have a lot of work to do. We still have two years ahead of us. We want use every second of those two years to do more things for Canadians with whether it's on social issues and whether it's on environmental issues what whether it's the economy or affordability, we have a an ambitious agenda,” said the minister. “I think we're an ambitious government. But we but he's definitely the right man.” When asked about preparations for the next election, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra (Mississauga Centre, Ont.) said “we’ll do what we do in every election, which is demonstrate to voters that our plan is better than the alternative plan, and that our plan has the best interests of Canadians at heart.” “I don’t deny that Canadians, like many citizens around the world have been going through a tough period for the last few years because of the pandemic and the impact the pandemic has had on our lives and on our economy,” said Alghabra. “So Poilievre is able to point the finger at the challenges that Canadians are going through—I accept that—but I also know Poilievre is not serious about how to tackle these issues, he doesn’t have the depth nor knowledge nor the ideas to help Canadians, and I think Canadians are smart and will see that for themselves,” said the minister. “They will see a difference between our plan and his,” said Alghabra, who said the prime minister “is the right guy for the job” when asked who should lead the Liberals into the next election. Michelle Robinson made her way to Ottawa from her riding in Calgary Forest Lawn. “First and foremost, George Chahal is the closest MP we have, so I wanted to support him,” said Robinson. Robinson said the panel talked about how “things are changing, where people don’t want to pick up their phone and they don’t necessarily want to knock doors.” mlapointe@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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Liberals eye ‘changing’ Alberta electorate, see Trudeau as leader heading into next election

Justin Trudeau is the 'best chance we have at forming the next government,' says environment minister on final day of Liberal policy convention.

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