Trump in limelight as talk of trade, jobs emerge on Canadian campaign trail

A familiar U.S. face is finally front and centre on the federal campaign trail: Donald Trump.

The Liberals are invoking the American president’s name in a new advertisement aimed at shoring up the party’s bona fides with unions and blue-collar workers.

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The ad, christened “Fought Tooth and Nail” and narrated by Chrystia Freeland, boasts about how the governing party stood up to the famously mercurial Trump White House during last year’s marathon talks to update the North American trade pact.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has faced repeated criticism from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh over the government’s handling of the talks.

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Singh, meanwhile, travelled to the auto-sector suburb of Oshawa, Ont., to unveil some Trump-style protectionism of his own: a suite of measures to keep auto jobs in the country and encourage new-car buyers to spend their money on built-in-Canada cars and trucks.

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The NDP leader is also vowing to stand up to the U.S. president if he becomes prime minister.

Scheer is scheduled to attend a campaign event this afternoon in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, while Green party Leader Elizabeth May is back in her Vancouver Island riding to attend a fair.