The big frustration for me is that people are growing so cynical about politics that you see them basically shrug and say, "Oh, yeah. Who cares that Harper is shutting down debate? Who cares that he's building prisons, and everything? All the politicians are the same so why should we be outraged about one rather than the other?" And my point is Canadians need to wake up. This is not the Canada they'd recognize if they looked closely.

The relationship between Canada and the United States serves as a model for the world. Our shared values, deep cultural ties, and strong integrated economies will continue to provide the basis for advancing our strong and prosperous partnership.

Excluding citizens' voices from politics leads down a very bad path.

Let's try and bring out the best in all of us and a positive vision of working together to solve big problems, to recognize that, yes, all is not right, things need to be fixed. We're better off solving things by working together than by pointing fingers at other people.

Connecting with Canadians isn't about what you say, it's about what you're listening to. It's about what you understand.

Ultimately, it is the people who judge, through elections, whether someone governs well or not. It's not up to other politicians to define and determine our colleagues.

You cannot let yourself be defined by the hopes that you will fulfill the darkest wishes of your opponents.