Trudeau rallies troops in Ottawa before taking fight to resurgent NDP in B.C.

OTTAWA — With the federal election campaign entering the home stretch, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is taking the fight to NDP rival Jagmeet Singh’s riding in British Columbia today after rallying his troops in the national capital.

Trudeau appeared before a cheering crowd of staff and supporters who packed a downtown Ottawa restaurant only blocks from the Liberal party’s headquarters this morning, where he urged them to “double down” in the final push to election day on Oct. 21.

The Liberal leader also took a swipe at the Conservatives for waiting until today to release their platform, and once again urged Quebecers to side with his party rather than a resurgent Bloc Quebecois.

Trudeau is now en route to B.C., where he is scheduled to campaign in Singh’s riding of Burnaby South before hitting the province’s lower mainland.

While Quebec is seen as key for either the Liberals or Conservatives to form government, the Liberals are in a pitched fight with the New Democrats and Greens in parts of B.C.

Liberal insiders have described voter intentions in the province as volatile, with many voters upset at the Liberals for having spent $4.5 billion to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline project.

The Canadian Press