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Justin Trudeau called on progressive cities to help form the next Liberal agenda during remarks at the annual convention of Canadian municipalities.

His speech Sunday followed the release of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ report criticizing how the federal government interacts with cities, which are under provincial jurisdiction.

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Ottawa has too often had “minimal response” to challenges facing cities, such as transportation, waste management and aging infrastructure, he told the crowd. More than 2,000 city officials were expected to attend the four-day conference at Canada Place.

“I hope each and every one of you will take this as an open invitation, whatever your political affiliation, to help shape our platform for 2015 and for the future of this great country,” Trudeau said.

Cities receive eight cents of every tax dollar, while the federal government takes 50 cents and the province takes 42 cents, while the vast majority of Canadians now live in urban areas.