More than 50 people gathered at the Seaforth Agriplex Wednesday to join Huron-Bruce Federal Liberals in celebrating the first anniversary of the Trudeau government’s 2015 election victory.
The Huron-Bruce Liberal riding association opened the doors of its monthly executive meeting, and invited the public to join in the event and hear from Allan Thompson, the Liberal candidate in Huron-Bruce last year.
Thompson used his remarks to review the Trudeau government’s record in its first year and to talk about his work as chair of the Liberal party’s ProjectRURAL task force.
The group also heard directly from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a recorded video message.
Thompson explained that ProjectRURAL has submitted a detailed report to the Liberal party, recommending steps to be taken to improve election readiness in rural ridings, to reach out and communicate more effectively in rural ridings and to craft a substantive rural policy platform.
"Tapping into that huge potential in rural ridings will require modern, data-driven campaign practices and coordinated efforts to effectively apply them in a rural context," Thompson said. "This also means overcoming challenges posed by expansive geography, the need to build organizational capacity and to break down the sense of isolation that exists in some areas.
"The Liberal party needs to work harder to reach a significant block of voters in many rural ridings and needs to reach out, listen and establish a presence. Paying more attention to and reflecting rural Canada is imperative."
