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He’s hopeful Canadians will listen closely to what Trudeau actually says, and more importantly, to what he doesn’t say, and recognize that the NDP is the only opposition party with a plan.

“When he said he’d have nothing to propose for the next two years, turns out, he was telling the truth. I think Canadians deserve to know what anybody aspiring to form government is actually going to put on the table,” he said of Trudeau, who admitted in August that his prescription for what ails the country would be revealed in the party’s 2015 election platform. “That’s why we rolled out a very detailed piece on energy recently and we’re going to continue to do that.”

Mulcair said his “biggest challenge” in the lead up to the next election is to ensure Canadians are aware of the Liberal and Conservative “track record” and are reminded that they don’t have to return to what’s familiar.

The Liberals, he argued, promise one thing and do another, as was the case with getting rid of the GST and signing on to the Kyoto climate change agreement without a plan to meet its requirements. Meanwhile, he said, the Conservatives do what they say and that includes promoting pipelines that export jobs to the United States, and the view that a strong economy and a healthy environment cannot coexist.

“The NDP is putting forward clear policy on everything from the environment, to the economy, to social issues. We have a strong track record for good, solid public administration,” Mulcair said. “What used to be our ceiling is now our floor. We’re doing well. We have poured a very solid foundation. The concrete is hardening and we’re going to start building on that.”