During his recent visit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau learned about the electric race car engineering students have been working on. //Photo: UM Today
Prime Minister visits campus
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus on April 12 to tour the innovative Stanley Pauley Engineering Building and speak about the tax credits proposed in his government’s Budget 2023.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits with a crowd of students.
“I want to recognize everyone with us from the University of Manitoba,” Trudeau began. “Thank you to the students who showed me around here and showed me all the exciting things. Thank you to the faculty and staff as well, and thanks to all of you outside,” he said, gesturing to many cheering students standing outside the room. “It’s great to see students taking and interest and I’ll try and say hi afterwards.” (He did.)
The prime minister has visited campus before to speak with students and faculty, and he did the same this trip, speaking with President and Vice-Chancellor Michael Benarroch about UM’s role in addressing Canada’s clean technology needs, and advancing truth and reconciliation.
“At the University of Manitoba we pursue big ideas and thanks to our incredible faculty and globally unique research spaces, UM is a leader in understanding and adapting to climate change,” Benarroch said. “I’d really like to thank the federal government for supporting the bold endeavors the University of Manitoba leads.”
Benarroch then went on to thank MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South) for his ongoing advocacy and support of federal investments into building a new permanent home for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and upgrading the energy plant that powers the Fort Garry campus and will help UM meet its net-zero carbon target.
Prime Minister Trudeau takes in engineering students’ experiential learning project.
During the roughly three-hour visit, engineering students eagerly showed Trudeau the electric Formula 1 car they are building for an upcoming competition and explained some of the design ideas they are working through. The prime minster chatted with the students about the project and the students praised the experiential learning process.
“We have about 20 teams in which half or more of our students will participate at some point in their degree and I’m so pleased you, the Prime Minister, had a chance to meet some of them today. These students take their teams to national and international competitions with impressive results and our Shell eco-marathon solar car team is currently in Indianapolis doing just that right now,” Marcia Friesen, Dean of the Price Faculty of Engineering, said to a visibly enthused prime minister.
Trudeau spent much of his time engaging with students, but he also meet with faculty members Carl Ho and Shaahin Filiadeh to learn about their work in power electronics.
While on campus touting the investments this new federal budget intends to make in clean technologies Ho and Filiadeh help make possible, Trudeau also highlighted proposed measures to enhance financial assistance for students by increasing Canada Student Grants by 40 per cent.
“Young people are leaders of tomorrow, and also of today, and our government is here to make sure you succeed,” Trudeau said. “In the Price Faculty of Engineering, I know many of you work on electric vehicles. Budget 2023 invests in industries you’ll soon be leading.”