THUNDER BAY -- At the eleventh hour of a marathon federal election campaign, Thunder Bay Liberals got their piece of Trudeaumania.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau touched down at the Thunder Bay Airport on Saturday with only two days left in the campaign, in which his party has come from third place to lead in the polls.
Trudeau spoke from the podium before over 600 of the party faithful at around 5:30 p.m. before circulating through the crowd, where he held babies, signed autographs and posed for selfies.
In his speech, he reiterated the Liberal platform of tax relief for the middle class and elevating 315,000 people out of poverty, which he called the most progressive on the spectrum.
"As you continue to work hard, remember, we have a chance to beat fear with hope. We have the chance to beat cyncicism with hard work. We have a chance to give Canadians the real change they want, need and deserve," he told the crowd.
"Tom Mulcair wants you to believe real change can wait and Stephen Harper wants you to believe that better isn't possible. On October 19th, let's prove them both wrong. Let's prove together -- once and for all -- that in Canada, better is always possible."
Trudeau committed to making local candidates Thunder Bay's voice in Ottawa, not Ottawa's voice in Thunder Bay.
Those local candidates were moved by the outpouring of support for their leader.
"It was just electric," said Thunder Bay-Rainy River Liberal candidate Don Rusnak.
"He's just so charismatic and he energizes the crowd. It's going to be the final push for us."
Thunder Bay-Superior North Patty Hajdu said Trudeau navigated the crowd with the same sincerity she saw when he met with her clients at Shelter House last February.
"I saw so much passion and enthusiasm -- it sounds cheesy -- but for real change. He's just an inspiring leader because he's real," she said.
"It's a different feel than the same old politics. For him it's about connecting with people."
Trudeau was not available to media.
