With their numbers slipping in public opinion polls, the NDP are looking to win back support by launching a series of new radio ads targeting Justin Trudeau.
According to Sun Media’s David Akin, the new attack-ad blitz follows the release of an ad narrated by the Liberal leader painting rivals Thomas Mulcair and Stephen Harper as politicians cut from the same cloth.
“His ideas for our economy are eight, 10, or even 20 years away,” says Trudeau of the NDP leader. “Because, like Harper, he wants to eliminate the deficit immediately.”
Mulcair’s team hit back with a trio of radio buys, casting actors to voice scripts as three jaded voters turned off by the Liberal leader. All three ads carry similar elements; each calling for change, mentioning Trudeau by his full name, and ending with the tagline “he just lost my vote.”
In one, a female narrator describes herself as “someone who values civil liberties.”
Listen to the ad:
“I was excited about Justin Trudeau at first, but he really let me down on Bill C-51, Stephen Harper’s spy bill. Justin said he opposed the bill but then voted for it,” she says.
The Liberals did support the Conservatives’ anti-terrorism legislation, but promised to make amendments if elected to form government in October.
Another ad aims to maim support for Trudeau in the manufacturing sector by referencing a suggestion Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland made years earlier about letting the big three automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler — go bankrupt.
The third brings up the Liberal leader’s $20,000 speaking fees he charged charities and school boards, accusing him of skipping House of Common votes to collect money “for something that’s already a part of his job.”
Trudeau offered to reimburse some fees in 2013.
It’s a tactic that’s borrowed from the Conservative Party, who have been running attack ads against Trudeau with the tagline, “Just not ready” for months. And according to a poll released earlier this month, the message appears to be sticking.
A new TV ad is expected to be released later this week by the NDP.
"Only a few weeks ago, Mr. Mulcair was promising to run a positive campaign in the face of 'desperate' Conservative attack ads," the Liberal party told The Huffington Post Canada in a statement.
"Yet, the NDP is now engaging in the same negative politics and divisive attacks as Stephen Harper."
Also on HuffPost:
