Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has taken aim at his party’s habit of “navel gazing” as an explanation for its decline in membership in recent years.
Trudeau, speaking to about 500 party faithful in Victoriaville Saturday, said that the party needs to refocus on its goals.
“The biggest problem is that we ended wrapped up in ourselves and were more concerned about the fate of the Liberal Party than the lives of Canadians,” Trudeau said in a media scrum.
Trudeau promised that if elected in 2015, he would actively protect the French language, making it a “daily priority.”
He also vowed to protect such institutions as the CBC, which he said were critical to promoting French across the country.
The federal Liberals won 172 seats in the 2000 elections but now has only 35 MPs, including eight MPs from Quebec.
“Despite all of the social media and advertising, the groundwork and human contact matters most,” said Trudeau.
Trudeau said that his party will aim to support the middle class and promote economic growth but was also asked why his party’s platform has yet to be unveiled.
“The focus of the Liberal party is not what it takes to win elections but what will we do to government the country well if elected,” he said.
According to a recent poll, the Liberals have lost their advantage over the New Democratic Party in Quebec.
“Quebecers will not only be in my government, they will be listened to,” said Trudeau. “There won’t just be a Prime Minister from Quebec but there will also be strong cabinet ministers from Quebec as well.”
-With a file from The Canadian Press
