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Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says Prime Minister Stephen Harper made promises about the mission in Iraq that aren't holding up. Top commanders say that Canadian troops recently exchanged fire with extremists.The Canadian Press

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is promising a "new economic policy" that would include massive infrastructure investments, including high-speed transit from downtown Montreal to the airport named after his father.

In a speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Mr. Trudeau promised "innovative means of funding major projects," hinting a Liberal government would make it easier for pension funds to invest in infrastructure.

Mr. Trudeau saluted Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, a former Liberal MP who is popular on the municipal stage.

Mr. Trudeau said his government would support several of Mr. Coderre's plans for the city, including covering the Ville-Marie Expressway by 2017.

"Under the Conservatives, the minister in charge of Montreal [Christian Paradis] comes from the Eastern Townships; under the Liberals, the prime minister would be a Montrealer," Mr. Trudeau said.

He added that a Liberal government would support a new high-speed link between Montreal's downtown core and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

"This is first and foremost a federal file and we will take a leadership role to bring together all partners and do it as quickly as possible," Mr. Trudeau said. "And if it's the name of the airport that prevented the Conservatives from taking action, I can tell you that the same reason will push us to take action."

The promises come as the Liberals make a major push to win seats in and around Montreal in the election scheduled to be held on Oct. 19.

Mr. Trudeau also promised increased funding to post-secondary students, and to bring back the tax credit for investments in labour-sponsored venture funds that the Conservatives cancelled. The move is important in Quebec, where the Solidarity Fund, the financial arm of the Quebec federation of labour, is a major economic player.

"The Liberal Party of Canada is giving itself one main priority: We will equip Canada with a new economic policy. The premise will be simple: Canada's prosperity starts with the prosperity of its middle class," Mr. Trudeau said.

He argued the very rich have got richer under the Harper government, while the middle class is struggling. He said the Conservatives' policies since 2006 have favoured resource-rich provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, but that is in shambles because of falling oil prices.

"Canada under [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper is a two-tier Canada: the oil-based Canada that moved up and the other Canada that was standing still. And now the oil-based Canada is going backward," Mr. Trudeau said.

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