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Yesterday, I wrote a commentary suggesting that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would call an election on the same day as the Vancouver Pride parade.

This would leave his two main opponents, the NDP's Tom Mulcair and the Liberals' Justin Trudeau, having to decide if they would still join the celebration or change their plans.

Today, I spent a fair amount of time on Thurlow Street, where New Democrats were gathered.

Mulcair never showed up. Instead, he adjusted his schedule so he could launch the NDP election campaign in Eastern Canada. Mulcair also attended former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Flora MacDonald's funeral.

Trudeau, on the other hand, was in Vancouver to walk in the Pride parade.

He launched his campaign in Vancouver, surrounded by local candidates.

Over Twitter, the Liberal leader declared: "Proud to be a vocal supporter of equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer Canadians!"

Mulcair has many political assets. He's smart, tough-minded, and an outstanding debater.

But he's also, on occasion, shown a degree of caution that might cause some anti-Harper voters to question how he might govern.

Unlike Trudeau, Mulcair has not shown nearly as much eagerness to end the war on drugs by legalizing and regulating marijuana.

Unlike Trudeau, Mulcair also hasn't declared that he'll cut off payments of the child-care benefit to rich parents and make this allowance tax-free.

And Mulcair's tax proposals haven't been as bold as Trudeau's.

Of course, Trudeau must live with the albatross of Bill C-51 around his neck. His party supported this dreadful legislation in what many see as an act of political expediency.

But on the first day of the federal election campaign, I would declare Trudeau the winner over Mulcair.

The Liberal leader gave a very visible demonstration of his support for equality.

He's also done this in the past by visiting mosques in response to Conservative government Islamophobia.

There's something endearing about Trudeau's willingness to take political risks.