A light rain did nothing to dampen the mood at a Stratford coffee shop Wednesday afternoon when NDP leader Thomas Mulcair stopped by.
Between serving coffee and shaking hands, Mulcair took the opportunity to speak about his policy priorities that will determine the direction of his party's campaign in the next couple of months.
"People really want change and they sense that in this part of the country, southwestern Ontario, people sense that the party that can replace Stephen Harper is the NDP. They sense that, well they know, that in that particular riding the NDP finished second last time around and the party that does critique Conservatives in southern Ontario is the NDP,” says Mulcair.
The event was in support of Perth-Wellington NDP candidate Ethan Rabidoux who hopes to capitalize on the "Orange Wave" that has seen his party lead in the polls.
The stop came after a morning visit to London where the NDP leader promised to address job losses in the manufacturing industry which he blames on the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"We've got a plan to create jobs. Mr Harper's plan hasn't worked, he's lost 400-thousand well paid manufacturing jobs," says Mulcair. "We're going to become a champion for manufacturing and innovation, get some of those jobs back. We're not going to throw up our hands and say nothing can be done we're going to work hard to make life better for middle-class families."
With almost two months left before election day, Mulcair hopes to capitalize on public frustration with current Harper by campaigning in regions that were previously Conservative.