Justin Trudeau visits Winnipeg

By Roldan Sevillano

WINNIPEG – Nine candidates convened at the newly renovated Metropolitan Theatre for the second federal Liberal party leadership debate. Justin Trudeau, son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is perceived by many as the front-runner in the race for the top seat of the Federal Liberals. Recent polling suggests that with Trudeau at the helm, it will at the very least; bring the party back into official opposition status with other polling suggesting a possible liberal minority government. It’s still far too early in the race to take any projections seriously, but the trends seem to show favour towards a Trudeau-led Caucus.

During a brief stop to thank campaign volunteers, many of whom were from the Filipino community, Trudeau spoke to the strength of Canada as an island of multicultural diversity saying, “Together as a country we are strong not in spite of our differences, but because of our differences.”

The other candidates are David Bertschi, Martin Cauchon, Deborah Coyne, Marc Garneau, Martha Hall Findlay, Karen McCrimmon, Joyce Murray and George Takach. Three more debates are scheduled in Halifax, Montreal and Toronto before voting begins on April 7. The new leader of the Liberal Party will be announced on April 14, 2013 to replace interim leader, Bob Rae.