If there was any question about which voters the Liberals hope to attract on Oct. 19, they were answered by a quick glance at the cover of the party’s platform, which was released Monday in Waterloo.

While the phrase ‘Real Change’ appears at the top of the booklet, the biggest font is reserved for the words ‘Strong Middle Class.’

And in revealing the platform during a campaign event at Wilfrid Laurier University, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau took square aim at his Conservative counterpart in reiterating a pledge to raise income taxes on Canada’s top earners, and lower them for the middle class.

“Stephen Harper gave up on helping out the middle class a long, long time ago,” he said.

The platform featured few surprises, as most of its key points had already been made public during the election campaign.

Cognizant of the students making up a large part of his audience, Trudeau emphasized promises to spend more on helping aboriginal students attend post-secondary institutions, and to increase the maximum amount of the Canada Student Grant for full-time, low-income students.

“Too often, the cost of a post-secondary education saddles too many Canadians with large debts,” he said.

Also included in the platform was new restrictions on marketing unhealthy food and drinks to Canada, and a plan to limit the amount of trans fats and salt allowed in processed foods.

News of a tentative deal reached in talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership filtered into the event.

Asked about the trade pact by reporters, Trudeau said he wanted to see a “fulsome and responsible discussion” about the merits of the deal, but stressed the Liberals’ status as a “pro-trade party.”

He reserved any categorical decisions until seeing the deal himself, but said it would be difficult for Canada not to be part of a major trade deal involving countries like the United States and Mexico, given close alignment of the three countries’ economies in the auto sector and other industries.

“We are going to look carefully at the elements of the deal to ensure that it is in the best interests of Canadians,” he said.

With files from The Canadian Press