Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's Liberal Express stop in Squamish had the 100-plus crowd uttering "shame to the Conservatives" while cheering for the "alternative" party, the Liberals.
And Ignatieff himself seemed to revel in every moment of it.
"We're gonna ride this wave [of Conservative discontentment] just as long as it can go and make this wave bigger and bigger and bigger until we get to Sussex Drive," he said.
Ignatieff's casual conversation and personal approach to any who approached him at the Squamish Adventure Centre Sunday morning (Aug. 22) appeared to strike a chord with those in attendance.
The crowds included locals as well as Dan Veniez, Liberal Candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, and several members of the Liberal Caucus including, Joyce Murray (Vancouver Quadra), Sukh Dhaliwal (Newton North Delta), Ken Dryden (York-Centre), Rob Oliphant (Don Valley West), Bonnie Crombie (Mississauga-Streetsville) and Senator Mobina Jaffer.
Discontent with the current government lured many of the spectators.
"I've never had a real strong sort of party leaning, but right now I feel like I better look in to what the options are because I'm not very happy with who is running the country at the moment," said Ken Glover. "It's actually quite unusual for me to show up to something like this."
Ignatieff began his speech with a myriad of examples where Conservatives had gone wrong.
The "problems" Canadians have told him about on the Liberal Express tour include shutting down Parliament, suspect firings of people who disagreed with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the lack of action a Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr causing several to utter "shame" in unison not sticking up for veterans, lack of effective gun control and the recent $17 billion spent on fighter jets.
He also poked fun at Harper's G8 and G20 summits.
"Every Canadian's heart leaped at the thought that we would have leaders of the world in our country to show them what a wonderful country it was show them a real lake for example, show them a nice back yard in Muskoka, show them what the black flies are like in June. Give them a good time."
Instead, he said, they got a fake lake in Toronto and a bill north of $1 billion.
"There are lots of ways to rebuild the prestige of Canada on the world stage but that has to rank as the worst way to do it that any Canadian has ever heard of," said Ignatieff.
The Squamish stopover was Ignatieff's 102nd event with the Liberal Express bus since he began the tour on July 11.
"We have been in nine provinces and two territories," he said. "A tremendous amount of politics is just showing up and we are showing up in every community in Canada to bring a message of hope, renewal and optimism in support of fantastic candidates like Dan Veniez.
"This is the right way to do politics, up close, direct, have the time to talk to you and listen to some of the issues on your mind."
In keeping with this sentiment, Ignatieff began his Squamish visit the previous evening by getting to know a few locals on one of the most important days of their lives their wedding day. He stumbled upon a wedding party in progress at his hotel, Executive Inn and Suites.
"We had a hilarious evening last night man, we arrived in a hotel just up the road and we came to a wedding and the wedding was in full tilt, let me tell ya," he said.
"We had a hilarious evening last night man, we arrived in a hotel just up the road and we came to a wedding and the wedding was in full tilt, let me tell ya," he said.
"And the good news is that Bianca [Peters] married Dan [Arnold] last night some of you may know her. Bianca and Dan came out to talk to us and we had our pictures taken with the bride who looked absolutely spectacular."
Before his speech, Ignatieff also connected with locals during his 45 minutes chatting with people in the crowd at the Adventure Centre, which many said left a positive impression.
"It was really refreshing," said Spencer Fitschen who has lived in Squamish for 35 years. "I didn't really ask him about anything, he was asking us and what was concerning us in the community."
Other residents were very appreciative of his efforts to connect with people on a personal level.
"I really appreciated that he took the time to come talk to us and I think that showed that he's really putting himself out there," said Glory Edward, who moved to Squamish in March.
Ignatieff spent a few minutes speaking with some local Sikh residents who hope a return to Liberal leadership would mean a return to "the Canada it used to be, without discrimination."
Mohan Ghuman said for Canada to be non-discriminatory, Liberals need to be in office.
He also spoke with Graham Fuller, a Squamish resident who has lived, studied and published extensively on the Middle Eastern region. Originally from the U.S., he said he's a former member of the CIA, author and political analyst specializing in Islamic extremism.
"I wanted to express my concerns for an independent Canadian view of the world," he said.
"As a former American who's been here for seven years, I follow international politics very closely and I very much hope that Canada will look for a new place in the world which is less U.S.-centric. Not so closely tied to what I see as a declining and losing U.S. global strategy."
Despite the vehement panning of the current government, Ignatieff said his party doesn't merely rely on the Conservatives' disapproval ratings to make their case.
"It's not enough to depend on the discontent with the government," he said, "we have to present a positive alternative.
He said the Liberals would stop tanker traffic in the North Pacific, extend marine protected areas and get the fisheries and oceans department and other federal authorities back into the business of making sure the oil sands are sustainable.
He said childcare and postsecondary education were key priorities to help middle-class Canadians, who make up 70 per cent of the population.
"If you look at mortgage debt, credit card debt, the middle class family is squeezed so we're saying here's how to help we need to get child care for Canadian families that need it, keep taxes competitive and as low as we can and help middle class Canadian families get post secondary education for their kids."
Ignatieff made a plea for Green Party and New Democratic Party voters to realize the Liberals also care about the environment and keeping minimum wage at a liveable level.
"Next time if you vote NDP and Greens you know what will happen, you will re-elect Stephen Harper and you will have four more years of this and you don't want four more years of this and the environment of this country cannot take four more years of this," he said.
"So come on in to the big red tent at the centre of Canadian life we're not a party of the left, and we're not a party of the right, we're a party of the dynamic, reforming, fiscally responsible centre of Canadian politics."
