On Wednesday night current MP and Liberal candidate Justin Trudeau was in Gert’s to watch the Montreal Canadiens play game seven of the NHL playoffs against the Boston Bruins. Decked out in a Habs jersey, Trudeau was watching the game with one of his “very best friends in the world,” Gerald Butts, a member of McGill’s Board of Governors (BoG). Among a crowd of students at the bar, Trudeau checked in with The McGill Daily around third period.
The McGill Daily: So, Justin Trudeau, what are you doing here?
Justin Trudeau: He [Butts] was in a BoG meeting tonight and I was coming out of the Dawson admin building and we were trying to pick a place to watch the game. And I said; “Well, let’s meet at Gert’s.” – “We haven’t done that in 20 years!” Butts added – Exactly. We had a bit of a struggle because Gert’s used to be upstairs. So we found Gert’s now, and it would have taken us more than the time between periods to walk to a place to watch. Here there’s cheap beer, it’s a pretty good crowd, and we’re enjoying ourselves thoroughly.
MD: So what do you think of Gert’s? There have been a lot of renovations lately; what’s your impression?
JT: You know what, I’d have to spend a full Tuesday afternoon in Gert’s – like I used to – to be able to tell you what I really think of Gert’s now.
MD: What would you say to people who say you’re here to campaign? Are you here to campaign?
JT: No, I’ve been ignoring people and hiding from people. So if I have an impact, cool, but that’s the last thing on my mind… I pretty much signed off [of Twitter] just to watch the game.
MD: So you’re not tweeting the game right now?
JT: I tweeted when we evened it up. I couldn’t help myself, but I’m going to stop now.
MD: Have any students recognized you or come up to talk to you?
JT: Three or four, yeah, but that’s not what I’m here for.
MD: How do you think the candidate debate that was held on campus today went?
JT: I didn’t see the debate on campus. Excellent to see democracy at work!
—Complied by Erin Hudson