Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in B.C.'s largest South Asian community Tuesday evening, a week after revelations that he wore blackface numerous times prior to entering politics.
In Surrey, outside the Aria Banquet Hall, Trudeau only spoke for seven minutes to a mostly Sikh audience of about 500 people. Prior to the rally Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal said the community has accepted Trudeau's apology. He said Trudeau has always represented multiculturalism, as did his father and former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who formed the cultural policy beginning in 1971.
The swing city of Surrey encompasses five ridings, all of which are held by Trudeau's Liberals, who flipped three from the Conservatives and two from the NDP in 2015.
Trudeau's messaging was central to Surrey, which is a middle class suburb that's plagued with violent outbursts of gang activity, including shootings. Trudeau reminded the audience of the Liberal-initiated Canada Child Benefit and of a recent announcement to ban military-style assault rifles nationwide while also giving municipalities the ability to ban hand guns.
Trudeau criticized provincial Conservative governments, such as Ontario's led by Doug Ford.
"That's what a buck a beer got in Ontario," he said.
But he also praised cooperation between his federal government and the BC NDP provincial government, which is popular in Surrey at the moment.
"Here in B.C., though, you've seen the great things that can happen when the federal and provincial governments work together," he said, citing investments in transit.
Surrey has a planned $1.6 billion extension to SkyTrain, with about $493 million in funding from the federal government. However, a further $1.5 billion is needed to extend the line to Langley, which is located east of Surrey.
On Tuesday, local mayors called on federal politicians to commit that money.
