Article content continued

Read more . . .

[/np_storybar]

When Justin Trudeau officially launches his campaign for the leadership of the Liberal party tonight, it is expected he will bluntly admit his party has lost touch with Canada’s middle class — and offer his prescription for winning them back.

The Montreal MP, 40, will make a speech tonight in his home riding of Papineau in front of enthusiastic support, but campaign insiders say to expect a “meaty” speech, according to The Canadian Press.

While not expected to detail specific policy, the speech will instead lay out “a mature and thoughtful perspective on the country” that will showcase Trudeau’s “values, objectives and methods.”

The middle class — the hallowed demographic that most Canadians identify with — is not lacking for political outreach, but Trudeau has previously suggested he thought the Liberals had lost touch with it.

“I think changing leaders as often as the Liberal party has in the past few years hasn’t been the magic bullet we thought it would be… We need to a lot of hard work on the ground before we can get anywhere near the kind of trust we need from Canadians,” he said shortly after learning his party was devastated in last May’s election.

[np-related /]

Trudeau has been touted as being as close to a sure-thing as there is in politics to win the Liberal leadership, to be decided next April. But much of the early punditry has noted that an easy win for Trudeau would do neither the candidate nor the party well.