CREDIT: STEPHANIE LAI
Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau made his rounds in London and stopped by Fanshawe College to give a speech to staff and students.

Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau was at Fanshawe College on September 11 to give a speech and answer questions from students.

While he avoided discussing concrete political issues, Trudeau focused on the upcoming federal election tentatively scheduled for October 2015.

He said he was building a team with a plan that is going to offer Canada a better government.

Trudeau said the problem with the world and politics today is that they are focused on short-term benefits – “on what to say to win the next election cycle, to stay in power for one more mandate.”

He also made reference to environmental issues, saying how we manage our resources today has long-term and broad consequences felt around the world.

“Short-term thinking does not care for the long term,” he said.

Trudeau said the reason people – especially younger people – vote less is because “politics can be a tremendous source of cynicism these days.”

He pointed out that politicians were more focused on attacking their opponents “than on actually serving the country” and promised he would not be running attack ads during the election.

A Liberal government under Trudeau would establish a political frame that would develop answers and policies “in a lens that says, ‘OK, these are our values, these are our priorities. This is what the science and research says, these are the best practices around the world. This is the goal we want to achieve with this policy.’ And then actually leave it open for discussion.”

He said doing so would help find the best way to achieve the goal all Canadians share – “having a prosperous country with a sustainable environment that gives a real and fair chance for everyone to succeed.”

“This is what we all want,” he said. “How to get there is the challenge that politics should be focused on. Where are the buses going, rather than who drives the bus over whom?”

Trudeau said the Canadian identity is based around shared values of “openness, respect, compassion, a willingness to work hard but a desire to be there for each other in times of trouble. A belief of justice, in equality, in opportunity.”

Trudeau’s stop at Fanshawe marked his third post-secondary institution stop in just two days and his third stop in London that day.

To listen to his speech along with the Q&A, check out the article Transcript of Justin Trudeau's speech during his visit to Fanshawe