MONTREAL—Here’s what Justin Trudeau did Saturday: he delivered a strong speech that included some of the most memorable lines heard in recent Canadian political history.

And here’s what he didn’t do: put any specifics on a sunny economic policy that will doubtless be the issue on which Canadians cast ballots next year.

So the Liberal leader had a gift for both supporters and opponents here, giving the former the energy they will take home with them Sunday in their last meeting before a general election and giving the latter more opportunities to go after the cult of Justin and his paucity of ideas.

On balance, however, Trudeau is winning this battle with his critics and until there is a sign that this slow build to real policy specifics is hurting him, there is no need for him and his inner circle to bow to any pressure for the big reveal.

If you’re looking at how the next 18 months might play out in Canadian politics, you would do well to look back and refresh yourself on the 2008 political season in the United States.

It’s not for nothing that former Barack Obama strategists are prowling the halls here, as they have recently at NDP events, and there is a lot of borrowing from that great campaign of hope going on here.

From building his speech on a fictional woman named Nathalie, to reaching out to his wife and children by video from the podium Thursday, from the folksy fundraising entreaties from the leader, to the use of the word “hope” in the convention slogan, this is Obama déjà vu.

And at this point in that election cycle, Obama was also building a personality cult with little to offer in the way of policy.

Most importantly, Obama was carrying a positive message against a tired Republican administration that was big on personal attacks and voter suppression.

Trudeau is building a case against a tired Stephen Harper government that has — we were told time and again this weekend — built its brand on divisiveness and personal attacks and is now facing accusations of vote suppression.

Trudeau was most effective when he claimed to speak directly to Conservative voters Saturday.

“We might disagree about a great many things,’’ he said to any Conservatives who may have tuned in, “but I know we can agree on this — negativity cannot be this country’s lifeblood.’’

He accused Harper of abandoning his principles and, in his best partisan rejoinder, he told delegates that anyone who had appointed Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau to the Senate may want to rethink a campaign based on “judgment.’’

But there is no straight line between the U.S. in 2008 and Canada in 2015.

Trudeau certainly does not own the progressive vote in this country.

Tom Mulcair and his New Democrats have so far shown no sign of fading in Quebec and remain competitive nationally.

Harper and his Conservatives will look shopworn at best in 2015, but they have crafted an economic timeline that will give them money to spend on voter enticements and whether one believes this is cynical, election-driven budgeting or not, they will still go before Canadians claiming to be most trustworthy on the economy.

There were enough Liberal hints about spending at this convention — on First Nations, on health care, on child care, on infrastructure — that Trudeau will eventually have to face tough questions on how he would pay for programs, especially after his vow that tax hikes for the middle class “are not in the cards and not on the table.’’

Obama’s Democrats never sank to the organizational and financial depths of the Liberals of 2011.

Reading between the lines here, there are still questions about the depth of Liberal support.

Although they met in Montreal, Trudeau spent only seven minutes of a 39-minute speech speaking French and delegates to this convention are overwhelmingly English-speaking.

In showcasing provincial leadership, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was the westernmost representative.

Trudeau said he drew larger crowds in places like Kamloops and Okotoks than the number of Liberal votes cast last time in those communities, but that serves as a reminder of the work ahead of this party in the Prairies.

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But right now Trudeau appears unencumbered by any of this baggage and he has left his opponents firing away at him rather than specific policy and that is playing to his strength.

The nastier they get, the sunnier he will try to be. Staying on his positive path may yet prove to be his biggest challenge.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column usually appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. tharper@thestar.ca Twitter:@nutgraf1

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