December 18, 2014
A message from Justin Trudeau:
Friend–
Thank you all for your support. We’ve got a big year ahead of us, but with a little hope – and a lot of hard work – we can bring Canadians the change they deserve.
In Parliament, our party led the charge on accountability and transparency by publicly disclosing our MPs’ expenses, an example that has now been followed by all political parties. We’ve taken a principled stand on women’s reproductive rights and Senate reform, doing more for the latter in one day than Mr. Harper has in almost a decade. I was also pleased to introduce my Transparency Act to make government open by default.
Liberals vowed to re-open the closed veteran service centers that were shamefully boarded up by the Conservatives to save $4-million – just one example of how this government has failed our veterans and military service members. We outlined a counter proposal to the government’s flawed small business EI tax credit. And most recently, our party has challenged the merits of the Conservatives’ unfair $2 billion income splitting plan – a tax break for the wealthy that does nothing to help 85 percent of Canadians.
While we’ve been busy in Ottawa, we’ve also been hard at work in communities across the country.
Thanks to our open nominations, we now have over 300,000 members in the Liberal Party of Canada. Even more exciting, 200,000 are new members from this year alone.
We have passed the halfway mark with nearly 180 impressive and diverse candidates nominated to run under the Liberal banner in 2015. More than a third are women and our team continues to grow each day. We are already joined by former and current municipal councillors and mayors, veterans, healthcare and business leaders, teachers, entrepreneurs, and Aboriginal leaders.
In 2014, I attended over 600 events in 100 ridings across the country. I met with Canadians and discussed Liberal priorities, including jobs, growth, and help for struggling middle class families. In the new year, I will continue to engage with Canadians in their communities and bring their concerns to Ottawa.
Stephen Harper’s priorities are no longer Canadians’ priorities, but people don’t just want a different government – they want a better government. We are building a strong team and plan, and that will continue to be our focus as we approach the next election.
Thank you all for your support. We’ve got a big year ahead of us, but with a little hope – and a lot of hard work – we can bring Canadians the change they deserve.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones,
Justin P. J. Trudeau
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada