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Justin Trudeau made his most explicit statement yet that a Liberal government would not make balancing the budget its top priority.

“We will balance the budget, but how long that takes will depend on the mess that Stephen Harper has left behind. This country needs a plan for growth,” he said in Belleville, Ont., where he unveiled a $300-million raft of new measures to help Canada’s veterans.

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Things are starting to get interesting in the 42nd general election campaign as the parties’ electoral machines fire up in earnest.

The Liberal strategy is beginning to look very familiar to anyone who followed Dalton McGuinty’s campaigns, which should be no surprise, given the number of Queen’s Park veterans on board.

There are similarities in the campaigning style of the two leaders — both exude a sunny, evangelical manner, convinced they can make a difference.

Both are disciples of Wilfrid Laurier, who believed “in all human things there are always abuses to be reformed, new forces to be developed and new horizons to be opened.” Neither are, or were, daunted by the fact that opening new horizons is expensive. “We can’t afford not to” was McGuinty’s response to such piddling concerns as deficits.