Trudeau's Regatta Day appearance a sign of Liberal anxiety over N.L. seats, Brazil says

Politicians turned out in droves to the Royal St. John's Regatta on Wednesday, seizing the opportunity to work Newfoundland's largest crowd of the year amid the backdrop of what some say is growing displeasure with the current federal government.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the rounds around Quidi Vidi Lake under the midday sun, casually dressed and smiling as he shook hands with throngs of regatta celebrants.

But in spite of Trudeau's laid-back attitude, it was a visit David Brazil saw as entirely strategic — and indicative of fears the federal Liberals may lose some of their Newfoundland and Labrador strongholds in next fall's federal election.

«People are saying it's time for this prime minister to look at what he's been offering to people. And they say he's failed,» said Brazil, the former interim leader of the province's Progressive Conservative Party and now the federal Conservative Party nominee for St. John's East. It's often an unprompted remark he encounters while knocking on doors, he said.

«The first thing they'll say is, Trudeau has to go.»

Brazil spent the afternoon just as he's been spending most of his says lately: gathering intelligence ahead of the next federal election, which has to be held by mid-October 2025.

He says he stands a solid chance against Joanne Thompson, the riding's current Liberal MP — and believes Trudeau's presence Wednesday all but confirms it.

«People on my team are saying that [the Liberals] feel they've got a race going on here now, so they're bringing down all the big guns to try to give some more exposure to the Liberal candidate,» Brazil said.

«They're saying the polling here is not looking good for them.»

Thompson herself stuck to a positive messaging strategy Wednesday,