Justin Trudeau says public transit, exports to be planks of Liberal economic policy

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has outlined infrastructure, export development and entrepreneurship among key points of his party’s economic platform going into the 2015 federal election.

Trudeau was in Montreal on Friday to attend a luncheon with the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal along with Mayor Denis Coderre.

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In a speech delivered mostly in French to business representatives, Trudeau said the Liberals will fight the rise of income inequality. 

"The world we live in is full of challenges, but it is also full of incredible opportunities to be seized, with the opening of new markets, the growth of developing countries, new forms of technology, and sustainable development," he said.

“Our economic vision will aim to strengthen the prosperity of the middle-class and create long-term growth in key areas.”

Trudeau outlined five points of the Liberal Party's economic platform: infrastructure, post-secondary education, exports, entrepreneurship and investment in research and science.

Support manufacturers with exports

The Liberal leader said should the Liberals assume government, he will reinstate the Labour-Sponsored Venture Capital Corporation tax credit, which is currently being phased out, in a bid to support workers and small businesses.

For infrastructure, there will be a focus on public transit as an alternative to solo vehicles in dense cities and as a way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trudeau said that should he become prime minister, he would attend the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December, in apparent contrast to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has generally shunned UN confabs. 

In prepared remarks, Trudeau also mentioned a Liberal government would help manufacturers modernize and reach emerging markets, as well as get a foothold in Europe in preparation of Canada's Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the EU. In addition to the export of goods and services, Trudeau emphasized the export of Canadian art and culture, citing Quebec as an "extraordinary example" of how well it promotes its artists abroad. 

He also repeated the Liberals' commitment to restoring the long-form census.

'Heavy on vagueness,' NDP says

New Democrat finance critic Nathan Cullen said there are similarities between the Liberal platform and the economic strategy the NDP laid out, particularly when it comes to tax breaks for small businesses and support for manufacturers.

"I guess imitation is the best form of flattery," he said in an interview with CBC News.

He added that the Liberals still haven't told people exactly what they plan to do.

"It’s very heavy on vagueness and light on details," Cullen said.

During his speech, Trudeau criticized the Conservatives for their reliance on the oil sector and not doing enough to benefit the middle class.

He also took a crack at the Harper government's income-splitting policy that he said would cost more than $2 billion and "deliver the majority of the benefits to the wealthiest 15 per cent of Canadians instead of the middle class."

The Liberal leader has said in the past that his party's economic policy would reverse the government's income-splitting plan. 

Earlier this month, Trudeau delivered a speech in Calgary on the environment and the economy.