Justin Trudeau takes a gamble on staying positive
New Liberal leader vows to reject political attack strategy
On his first full day as the new leader of the Liberal Party, Justin Trudeau sat down with the CBC’s chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge to talk about the ambitions he holds for himself and the country.
Already the target of the Harper government regarding his judgment and experience, Trudeau acknowledges that negative attack ads work.
"Mr. Harper has a majority government today because of the politics of negativity and division," he says, but points to the cynicism about politics it breeds.
"Once Canadians no longer believe that there is any good in politics, they no longer feel we can work together to solve the challenges we’re facing, and that is my fundamental motivation, how do we work together as a country to solve the big challenges we’re facing.
"Even if attack ads work, you can’t get to where we need to go through using them. So I have to say, I’m glad to say, no, I’m not going to play at those attacks," says Trudeau.
"I’m gambling my entire career on Canadians being better [than this]," he says. "Canadians are tired of being cynical."
In a wide-ranging discussion, Trudeau speaks about his famous father, his judgment and experience, the economy and the military, and even his reaction to breaking news about the Boston Marathon bombings.
The full interview with Trudeau airs on the CBC News Network on Saturday at 3:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. ET and on CBC-TV at 12:30 p.m. local time and 1 p.m NT.