By Canadian Press

Justin Trudeau takes virtual cross-country tour to Atlantic provinces

Sep 3, 2020 | 2:05 AM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues his virtual tour of Canada today, with electronic visits to the Atlantic provinces.

He conducted a virtual tour of British Columbia on Wednesday, meeting with  Premier John Horgan and consulting with business and environmental leaders about how to ensure a green economic recovery from the devastating impact of the pandemic.

Trudeau is planning to unveil what he promises will be a bold recovery plan in a throne speech re-opening Parliament on Sept. 23. The speech will be put to a confidence vote, which could potentially result in the defeat of Trudeau’s minority Liberal government.

With the possibility of a fall election in mind, today’s Atlantic tour appears to have a more political flavour. Trudeau is to be joined by local Liberal MPs as he visits businesses that have used various federal emergency aid programs to stay afloat during the health crisis.

He’ll be speaking with Newfoundland and Labrador’s Liberal premier, Andrew Furey, before moving on to the maritime provinces.

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He is scheduled to speak to the owner and employees of Louisbourg Seafoods in Nova Scotia, which used the emergency wage subsidy to continue operations during the pandemic.

Next stop, Distillerie Fils du Roy in New Brunswick, an Acadian company that switched from producing spirits to hand sanitizer during the pandemic to supply governments and essential workers, with the help of a federal emergency loan program.

Trudeau will then conduct a virtual visit of Tronosjet Maintenance Inc., a Prince Edward Island aerospace company that has been producing disposable 3D printed protective caps for ear thermometers to address shortages at a local hospital and is hoping to develop additional testing equipment.

He is also scheduled to give interviews to several local radio shows.

Trudeau normally uses the summer to travel the country and engage in outreach with community leaders and voters outside the Ottawa bubble. But apart from the occasional forays to Toronto, Montreal and communities near Ottawa, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this year has put a severe crimp in his usual cross-country travels.

Like other political leaders, Trudeau has been forced to find other ways to conduct regional outreach.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2020.

The Canadian Press