The Liberal leadership race is gathering speed.
Four of the seven candidates tour through town next week after going head-to-head in the first debate of the campaign on Sunday in Vancouver.
David Bertschi, an Ottawa lawyer, will be among other candidates previously announced candidates stopping here — Justin Trudeau, Karen McCrimmon and Martha Hall Findlay.
Trudeau is scheduled to meet with local First Nations leaders on Monday afternoon before speaking publicly at 5:30 p.m. in the Grand Hall at TRU.
Anyone interested in attending can pre-register at the door or with Diane McLeod (376-3699; mcleo01@shaw.ca) or Don Graham (579-2113; dgraham6@shaw.ca).
Generally considered a frontrunner — with polls suggesting four times the support of his closest rival, Marc Garneau — Trudeau is expected to draw a large audience to TRU. He rolls on to Kelowna and Prince George after Kamloops.
“We have, currently, probably over 200 people pre-registered and I expect a flurry of last-minute calls over the weekend,” McLeod said.
Bertschi stops to chat with the public on Tuesday, 10 a.m., at the Red Beard Coffee Shop (formerly Caffe Motivo), 449 Tranquille Road. He’ll be there for a couple of hours and anyone interested is welcome to attend.
McCrimmon and Hall Findlay will share a podium on Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. at Hoodoos at Sun Rivers. The public is welcome to attend that event as well.
Sunday’s debate at the Westin Bayshore takes place at 1 p.m. CBC News Network and cbc.ca offer live broadcasts of the event.
The party elects a new leader on April 14 in Ottawa. Deborah Coyne, Martin Cauchon, Joyce Murray and George Takach are also in the race.
