The Trudeau attack ad: Context and the Canadian Liver Foundation

Chris Selley notes that the clip including in the Conservative attack ad of Justin Trudeau speaking in 1999 is actually him explaining his father’s philosophy. CTV has uploaded the full clip here.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Liver Foundation tweets.

We feel @JustinTrudeau should be applauded for his support of a serious health issue that affects 3.4 million Cdns #cdnpoli

And releases a statement.

The Canadian Liver Foundation is grateful for Mr. Trudeau’s past support of our fundraising efforts. Liver disease is a serious national health issue which does not receive enough attention. 

The footage used in the recent political ad was filmed at the Canadian Liver Foundation’s What a Girl Wants fundraiser held November 17, 2011 in Ottawa. Mr. Trudeau was willing to not only attend our event but also generously donate a lunch to be auctioned off to raise funds for liver disease research and education. This auction item raised $1,900 and the event raised $128,000. 

The Foundation believes Mr. Trudeau should be applauded for his commitment to an important health issue that affects an estimated 3.4 million Canadians. 

Paul Wells considers the political strategy at play.