sunny ways, my friends, sunny ways. this is whatpositive politics can do. this is what a causative,hopeful a hopeful vision and a platform and ateam together can make happen. canadians canadians from all across this great country sent aclear message tonight. its time for a change in thiscountry, my friends, a real change.
i also want to specifically thank my good friendskatie telford and gerald butts. katie and gerry aretwo of the smartest, toughest, hardest workingpeople you will find anywhere. they share with me the conviction that politics doesnt have tobe negative and personal to be successful, that that you can appeal to the better angels ofour nature, and you can win while doing it.
tonight, my very good friends, we proved that. i hope it is an inspiration to like-mindedpeople to step up and pitch in, to get involved in the public life of this country and to knowthat a positive, optimistic, hopeful vision of public life isnt a naive dream; it can be apowerful force for change.
and i also want to thank the incredible volunteers that made tonight happen. over 80,000canadians got involved in the core of this campaign. they knocked on their neighbours doors.they made phone calls. they sent emails. hundreds of thousands more supported us activelywith their friends and online. they convinced their neighbours and their families. and all ofthese people had one thing in common: they care deeply about their families, theircommunities and their country. they believe that better is possible and that active citizens canplay a real part in making it happen.
now, this movement weve built was fuelled by these amazing volunteers, and from thebottom of my heart, i thank you.
now, i want to take a moment to speak about my colleagues across the aisle. tonight, ireceived phone calls from all of them, including from mr. harper. stephen harper has servedthis country for a decade, and as with anyone who has devoted their life to this country, wethank him for his service.
now, over the course of this campaign, i had the opportunity to have a couple of briefpersonal conversations with him about our families. it reminded me of the extraordinary andunique sacrifices that are made by anybody who serves this country at the highest levels, and iwant to remind everyone, as ive said many times over the course of this campaign:conservatives are not our enemies, theyre our neighbours. leadership is about bringing peopleof all different perspectives together.
now, youre all going to hear a lot tonight and tomorrow about me and about our campaign.lots of people are going to have lots of opinions about why we were successful. well, for threeyears, we had a very old-fashioned strategy. we met with and talked with as many canadiansas we could, and we listened. we won this election because we listened. we did the hard workof slogging it across the country. we met with hundreds of people in the dead of winter in thearctic and with thousands of people in brampton in the middle of this campaign.
you built this platform. you built this movement. you told us what you need to be successful.you told us what kind of government you want, and we built the plan to make it happen. incoffee shops and in town halls, in church basements and in gurdwaras, you gathered. you spenttime together with us, and you told us about the kind of country you want to build and leave toyour children.
over the past three years, you told us what youre going through. you told us that its gettingharder and harder to make ends meet, let alone to get ahead. you told us youre worried aboutwhether youll be able to afford a dignified retirement. you told us that your communities needinvestment. you told us you need a fair shot at better jobs. you are the inspiration for ourefforts. you are the reason why we worked so hard to be here tonight, and you will be at theheart of this new government.
so my message to you tonight, my fellow citizens, is simple: have faith in yourselves and inyour country, know that we can make anything happen if we set our minds to it and work hard.
i didnt make history tonight, you did. and dont let anyone tell you any differently. i know thati am on stage tonight for one reason and one reason only: because you put me here. and yougave me clear marching orders. you want a government that works as hard as you do, one thatis focused every minute of every day on growing the economy, creating jobs and strengtheningthe middle class, one that is devoted to helping less fortunate canadian families work theirway into the middle class.
you want a prime minister who knows canada is a country strong, not in spite of ourdifferences, but because of them, a pm who never seeks to divide canadians, but takes everysingle opportunity to bring us together. you want a prime minister who knows that ifcanadians are to trust their government, their government needs to trust canadians, a pm whounderstands that openness and transparency means better, smarter decisions. you want aprime minister that knows that a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with indigenouspeoples that respects rights and honours treaties must be the basis for how we work to closethe gap and walk forward together.
canadians canadians have spoken. you want a government with a vision and an agenda forthis country that is positive and ambitious and hopeful. well, my friends, i promise youtonight that i will lead that government. i will make that vision a reality. i will be that primeminister.
in this election, 1,792 canadians stepped up, put their names on ballots and on lawn signsand ran for office. three hundred and thirty-eight of them were chosen by you to be their voicesin ottawa, and i pledge tonight that i will listen to all of them.
there are a thousand stories i could share with you about this remarkable campaign, but iwant you to think about one in particular. last week, i met a young mom in st. catharines,ontario. she practises the muslim faith and was wearing a hijab. she made her way through thecrowd and handed me her infant daughter, and as she leaned forward, she said something thati will never forget. she said shes voting for us because she wants to make sure that her littlegirl has the right to make her own choices in life and that our government will protect thoserights.
to her, i say this: you and your fellow citizens have chosen a new government, a governmentthat believes deeply in the diversity of our country. we know in our bones that canada wasbuilt by people from all corners of the world who worship every faith, who belong to everyculture, who speak every language.
we believe in our hearts that this countrys unique diversity is a blessing bestowed upon usby previous generations of canadians, canadians who stared down prejudice and foughtdiscrimination in all its forms. we know that our enviable, inclusive society didnt happen byaccident and wont continue without effort. i have always known this; canadians know it too. ifnot, i might have spoken earlier this evening and given a very different speech.
have faith in your fellow citizens, my friends. they are kind and generous. they are open-minded and optimistic. and they know in their heart of hearts that a canadian is a canadian,is a canadian.
my friends, we beat fear with hope. we beat cynicism with hard work. we beat negative,divisive politics with a positive vision that brings canadians together. most of all, we defeatedthe idea that canadians should be satisfied with less, that good enough is good enough andthat better just isnt possible. well, my friends, this is canada, and in canada, better is alwayspossible.
thank you. thank you very much.