Smyth: How the Liberals’ backroom strategies won B.C. for Justin Trudeau
Campaign capitalized on the Liberal leader’s many local connections and hyped projects for Metro Vancouver
The Province – October 22, 2015
On the day Justin Trudeau was scheduled to hike up the leg-liquefying Grouse Grind in North Vancouver, Liberal communications director Mike Witherly was trying to calm rattled nerves.
“It’s one of those fraught-with-peril moments — what if something goes wrong?” Witherly recalled.
“We loved the idea because the Grouse Grind is an iconic B.C. experience. We knew it would produce beautiful visuals. It would remind people of (Trudeau’s) deep B.C. roots.
“But you never know, right? With a traditional candidate, you might worry about him dropping dead of a heart attack or something.”
But Justin Trudeau was not a traditional candidate.
