The day started in Halifax for Michael Ignatieff and wife Zsuzsanna Zsohar, though the first order of business was getting to Yarmouth Nova Scotia. While Michael had hoped to stop en route to the airport at his favourite used book store (known for its exceptional biography section) the flight was just a bit too early to make it happen. In Yarmouth, Mayor Phil Mooney, former West Nova MP Robert Thibault and a crowd of fifty people were on hand to greet Michael and Zsuzsanna at the airport. (By the way, because Michael is in the air and unreachable as we draft this post, we’re at a loss for the name of the bookstore at the moment, but we promise to get it from him and post it on Michael’s Facebook page tomorrow.)
From there it was off to the Tri Star manufacturing plant, where Michael met with the owners and workers while touring the facility. Tri-Star is perhaps best known for its ambulances, but exports numerous products to 45 countries across the world. Michael was very impressed – as he noted on his twitter stream today – and not only because Tri Star is a great example of a Canadian company successfully reaching into diverse markets. Tri Star’s story is the small town business that grew into a world-class manufacturer – one that is thriving despite the current economic climate. As if to prove this point, we ran into the Health Minister of Kuwait, Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer, who was at the plant today to buy ambulances on behalf of his government. Michael posed for a photo with him, which you can see below.
After a meeting with municipal leaders at Yarmouth City Hall, it was off to Clark’s Harbour Legion Hall with Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison and Halifax West MP Geoff Regan for the community’s annual garden party (held inside, as the photos show, though in the end it didn’t rain). Michael made a few remarks to the 300+ people in attendance and posed for a photo with local veterans. The crowd of mainly families and seniors was warmed up with fiddle music and Michael and Zsuzsanna joined in on the dancing that eventually started up.
After the garden party, Michael dropped by Clark’s Harbour Town Hall for another round table with municipal representatives from Queens, Barrington, Clark’s Harbour, Shelburne and other counties. Before he left Clark’s Harbour, Michael walked down to the wharf to meet local fishermen. As he tweeted earlier, they spoke about the challenges facing their industry.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Saint John, New Brunswick, where Michael will be delivering a major speech to the Board of Trade.
