Ottawa

Three things about the day that was in the election: Oct. 5

The interesting, the important, the fun: We recap the big items from the campaign trail from Oct. 5

The important

Most people use Facebook to catch up with friends. Justin Trudeau used the social media outlet’s video platform on Monday to release his Liberal Party’s full election platform. Making the announcement at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., the 88-page platform included promises to boost the maximum Canada Student Grant by 50 per cent for full-time low-income students, up to $3,000 per year. As for those struggling with student debt, the Liberals pledged that graduates would only have to start repayment only after they start earning at least $25,000 annually.

Of course, Trudeau wasn’t the only leader with big news using Facebook for a Q&A.

Tom Mulcair, meanwhile, was in Toronto to announce that an NDP government would invest $60 million over four years towards Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board, as well as ease up regulations for artists trying to score grants from the Canada Council for Arts.

And for those who think it’s only Conservative supporters scoffing at journalists’ questions, the NDP crowd also had some words for media almost exclusively asking Mulcair about the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

The interesting

From 2003 to 2010, Danny Williams was the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. But even though he was the leader of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party, that doesn’t mean he’s lobbying for a Harper government.

In reference to Harper’s stance against items like Muslim women wearing the niqab during citizenship oaths, Williams said the prime minister’s tactics isolate women, isolate minorities and “and even crosses, possibly, that racism line.” So for those conservatives who just can’t tick the box on election day in support of the Liberals or NDP, Williams has a piece of advice: strategic non-voting. “Don’t vote at all,” he said. “Just don’t vote for [Harper] because he’s bad for the country.”

With two weeks until Oct. 19 and all the federal leaders’ debates done for this election campaign, Trudeau is starting to pull ahead in the polls.

The NDP’s orange wave in Quebec from 2011 is quieting down substantially in 2015. Nanos polling numbers have the NDP in a statistical tie with the Liberals in La Belle Province, while the Bloc Quebecois vote has overtaken the Tories.

The fun

What should a Tory MP do when someone dumps 100 bushels of wheat outside his campaign office to protest the TPP deal? Turn that wheat into bread. (Get it? Money.)

With news of the 12-nation agreement, one farmer was evidently unhappy enough to let the Conservative MP in Brandon, Man., Larry Maguire, see it first-hand. But instead of letting the crop sit idle on the pavement, Maguire turned into a prop to promote the cause.

 

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