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VANCOUVER — Natural cynicism aside, elections are ridiculously exciting for the participants and those, like me, watching them.

Thus when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poked his handsome head into the press section of his plane Wednesday on day one of the federal campaign and offered a cheery “Hello ink-stained wretches!” it was hard not to feel just a little charmed.

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There we were, wretches all, on the PM’s charter, leaving Ottawa and heading to Vancouver, flying halfway across this gorgeous and largely empty country.

All Canadians are privileged to live in this place — a democracy where you don’t get shot for daring to line up to cast your ballot, where the vote is free and fair if not perfect, where trees still outnumber people (which in my books is perfect) and where it must be granted that almost all Parliamentarians start off, however they may end up, wanting God forbid to Do Good.

But none are luckier than the wretches of the press corps, getting to see it all close up — close-ish anyway — on the dwindling dimes of our companies.