The second-biggest crowd Justin Trudeau ever drew in sa国际传媒 was before he became prime minister.聽
In July 2013, just three months after having been elected leader of the federal Liberal party, Trudeau came to sa国际传媒 and gave a speech in Kerry Park along the downtown waterfront.聽
Several hundred people, most of them enthusiastic supporters of Trudeau, came out to hear the man who would go on to win a majority government two years later, ending a decade of Conservative government under Stephen Harper.聽
The headline for the story in The sa国际传媒 Courier read 'Trudeaumania rolls on', a reference both to his own popularity at the time and the enthusiasm that surrounded his father Pierre as leader of the same party in the late '60s.聽
"Showing up in flip-flops, khakis and a lavender polo, Trudeau promoted a laid-back atmosphere in the downtown park," The Courier reported of Trudeau's visit to sa国际传媒.聽
"Trudeau's appeal galvanized the crowd. Women elbowed each other to get a closer look at the charismatic figure," the article stated.聽
Trudeau joked about his star power. "Now, a lot of people think this is just about Justin and the hair. It's not," he said. "This is about people feeling that for once there might be room for Canadians in Canadian politics," he said, a line which drew boisterous cheers and applause.聽
Two years later, Trudeau's cross-country popularity helped the Liberals win the riding of sa国际传媒-Lake Country, which hadn't been done since his father's time more than 40 years earlier.聽
In September 2017, more than 2,000 people packed into the UBC Okanagan gym to hear Trudeau address a town hall-style meeting. He took questions from 11 people.聽
But the bloom on Trudeau's rose had faded by the next election in 2019, with the Liberals winning only a minority government and also losing in sa国际传媒-Lake Country. The party won a minority government again in 2021, and has been propped up since then only through the support of the NDP.
Trudeau announced Monday he was resigning as leader of the Liberal Party, triggering a leadership contest and a federal election likely to be held this spring.聽
Trudeau came to sa国际传媒 several times as prime minister, presiding over a citizenship ceremony, bringing the federal Liberal caucus to town, visiting a packinghouse, and meeting with firefighters.聽
Here are some pictures of his visits to sa国际传媒. History will judge whether his nearly decade in power lived up to the lofty goals he set out when he addressed the crowd in Kerry Park.聽
"We can lean on each other and build something extraordinary together," he said at the time.聽
