Justin Trudeau tries to boost the Liberal brand in Nova Scotia

Andy Radia
·Politics Reporter

With parliament prorogued, Justin Trudeau was on the hustings, Monday, campaigning with Nova Scotia Liberal leader Stephen McNeil just weeks ahead of a provincial election.

While it's not uncommon for federal party leaders to make an appearance or two with a provincial counterpart, it is strange for a federal leader to be as visible as Trudeau has been during this election campaign.

In fact, Trudeau has been so visible, the Huffington Post recently dubbed the Trudeau and McNeil's relationship as a 'bromance.'

A quick look through McNeil's Facebook page reveals three albums featuring photos of both the N.S. Liberal leader and Trudeau, who participated in a fundraiser in October, 2012 and rallies in both the spring and summer in support of Nova Scotia Grits.

At a rally in May, Trudeau vowed to do everything he could to help McNeil defeat Dexter, calling the provincial election a top priority, The Chronicle Herald reported.

Trudeau even appeared in a McNeil campaign ad.

Journalist and politics watcher Ryan Van Horne says that McNeil doesn't really need a Trudeau 'bromance' to win the election.

"No offence to Mr. Trudeau, but I don't think his involvement will help the Nova Scotia Liberals beyond getting them some media coverage," Van Horne, a freelance journalist based in Halifax, told Yahoo! Canada News.

"[The Liberals] have a commanding lead in the polls and having the federal party leader down here is more exciting for committed Liberals than it is for the undecided voters."

[ Related: Justin Trudeau buoying the federal Liberal image, but not the provincial brands ]

Van Horne adds that he doesn't really see the need for any of the other party leaders to get involved either.

"Tom Mulcair was out earlier, about a week before the writ was dropped and other than grabbing a headline or two, that visit didn't boost party support," he said.

"Stephen Harper has not been out during the campaign and I doubt he will. Committed Conservatives are the only ones who would welcome the Prime Minister, who is still somewhat loathed in Nova Scotia for his "culture of defeat" comment years ago. His presence would not persuade any of the undecided voters to vote for Jamie Baillie's Progressive Conservative party."

[ Related: Nova Scotia Liberals re-tweet picture of Darrell Dexter likened to fictional serial killer ]

The latest opinion poll has McNeil with with 48 per cent support of the decided voters. Incumbent premier Darrell Dexter's NDP are at 28 per cent support while the Progressive Conservatives sit in third place with 23 per cent support.

The election is scheduled for October 8th.

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