06.06.2012 07:13 AM

Justin Trudeau

His protests notwithstanding, I’m told he is in fact running.

Comment away!

63 Comments

  1. Jordan says:

    Will be interesting, I don’t think it’s a smart move.

  2. Conservative Socialist says:

    “I’m not running for the leadership” is usually code that means that they are in fact, running for leadership.

    The reason is, is that if they do run, then they can make a big splash and their announcement will have the maximum effect.

  3. Joey Rapaport says:

    Wow, glad to hear! Hopefully can relegate the NDP back to the rafters and challenge the Cons…

  4. Bryan says:

    Well, I kind of wondered when he showed up at the LPC(O) AGM despite being a Québec MP who wasn’t hosting, presenting, running…involved in any way except collecting pennies, I gather. If he were serious about a run he shouldn’t have himself suggested he’s not ready.

  5. DanO says:

    Good for him.
    I think he needs to come out heavy with some policy in order to overcome some of the stigmas agaisnt him. Should be an interesting race.

    I would like to see how he attracts western voters, major obstacle and that could define his run.

  6. Tiger says:

    The plot officially thickens!

    As Trudeau is the only person whom I think could beat Bob Rae next year.

    Well, either he’ll show he’s up to it, or he’ll faceplant. It’ll be interesting to see how the Quebec wing views him.

    Probably has lots and lots of goodwill in Ontario.

    • Warren says:

      If he goes for it, he’ll win. LeBlanc and Kennedy, et al., will go to him before they go to Rae, I’d wager.

      • Jordan says:

        I can’t see him losing.

        What do you think of him Warren?

        • Warren says:

          Wonderful guy. Big heart, as Liberal/liberal as they come.

          But I don’t think he’s ready to get into the political ring with Harper, yet. But if it’s two-term play, maybe.

          • WDM says:

            I know one shouldn’t concede the next election, but Liberals have to think two terms regardless of who they pick. Switching leaders each election cycle is just as damaging as all the other issues they face. Both Jack Layton and Stephen Harper can attribute at least part of their success in the last election to the fact they were seen as credible by certain portions of the electorate. They didn’t gain that credibility over the course of an election campaign, it was built up over 8 years.

            As for Trudeau running? Very interesting. Hopefully no one is scared off, and the race is a competitive one with representatives from all regions of the country.

          • lol, here’s an interesting scenario, planning on a two term play, but accidentally crosses the finish line first…… whoops! You are probably right he may not be ready to go toe to toe, hard to say, I just have not seen him in campaign mode. Then there is the small matter of governing should he win the campaign. based upon what I have read about him from fellow Liberals, I really wonder if he commands sufficient respect to keep cabinet in line….

            damned certain that he will make headlines, but will he prove to have the right stuff?

          • Paul says:

            Warren,

            Realistically, it’s a 2 term play for anyone. It was for Dalton and for Harper.

          • david says:

            why not? the man is forty years old for heaven’s sake. I would not underestimate this man for a moment and since when are brains a prerequisite for PM. Of course things will get messy but three years is a long time.

      • Tiger says:

        Well, if the party wants to run on a Trudeauvian sense of Canadian identity, he’s probably a good standard-bearer.

        And that’s what can differentiate the Liberals from the NDP… Mulcair can never go for Trudeau-style Canadian federalism; the NDP is locked to a Mulroney-esque approach to Quebec.

        • Jordan says:

          Trudeau did have to back track weeks ago after saying he’d support Quebec separating from Canada.

          • Tiger says:

            He didn’t quite say that.

            But you’ve pointed out the problem with him — a bit of a foot-in-mouth problem.

            Still, he’ll have lots of the usual suspects among journalists cheering for his success and covering for him, and that helps a good deal.

            I think it’d make sense for Liberals to take a very close look at him, and make the judgment call of whether his obvious upsides outweigh the downsides.

            If I were them, and things didn’t change much from today, I’d go for it. But they’ve got a year to make that call for themselves.

  7. JamesHalifax says:

    Quel, surpris….!!!!

    I wonder if he would have run if he hadn’t won the boxing match….lol

    • JamesHalifax says:

      Hey, I was rooting for Justin to win that match. After all the over-blown hype, I was rooting for the underdog.

      Besides, Trudeau had the reach, and the Senator…..had a two pack a day habit. I wasn’t hard to guess the outcome. Trudeau only had to survive the intial onslaught…and he did that very well.

      Running the country….that’s a little more difficult.

  8. JvonWahl says:

    I would love to see Justin run for leader, if he is not ready it will show and he will lose. I believe the party needs a race that is a feverish as possible. Whomever wins needs to zbe fire tested and battle hardened…

    Only person i think should not run in Bob Rae. If the liberal party ia open to real change for Canada they need to Start in house and learn to keep their word. Bob was told interim leader could not run, he said that was fine… so keep your word Bob don’t play politics as usual be a game changer and empower others over yourself.

    Its not the job of back room brass or ONE leader to change the party and country…. Its the job of every liberally minded Canadian…

    Collaboration over competition and acceptance over tolerance

  9. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    Cogent, erudite policy will attract some Western support and that will do his purported candidacy no harm.

  10. Dan says:

    The Liberal party loves a good dynasty. “The rightful heir.”

    The Canadian public, on the other hand…

  11. Ted H says:

    If he simply runs on the Trudeau name, that would be wrong and destined for failure. On the other hand, he might have some good ideas and a real sense of what the Liberal party needs to thrive in the current political landscape. If the latter is the case, let’s not hold his name against him.

  12. Joel R says:

    This is great news if it really occurs. If he goes in the ring vs. Harper, I think the attack ads will backfire also. Canadians feel as if Trudeau is their son, brother, friend, and even if they disagree with him on policy, they like him personally. Negative attack personal ads may help swing the undecided towards Trudeau.

    • Nic Coivert says:

      They’ll have to chain Harper pretty close to the ground when that cutey-pie son of Pierre’s is around.

      What a contrast!

      • Russel says:

        JustinT’s english accent sound..queer. Oh well, maybe it’s his artsy-fartsy drama teacher voice.

        Wonder if he knows anything about ‘economics’ or maybe he just depends on the likes of McCallum and Brison.

  13. Mulletaur says:

    If he is serious about it, Justin should wait and mature further as a politician. Our most successful leaders were one way or the other in the political game their whole lives, and started from nothing. Chrétien is only the most recent example of this. Even Pierre Trudeau was a public figure on his own merits before he was recruited by the Liberals to run. By running now, he will blow his chance at being taken seriously later when it will count. Harper isn’t going anywhere. The NDP soufflé is still rising. He just has to hope that there will be a Liberal party left worth leading when he does become leader.

    I am not in favour of electing people just because their father was in the same business. If they have sufficient merits on their own, that’s fine – the name can help. But I don’t think Justin Trudeau has what it takes.

    Rae was supposed to be ‘Bob the Builder’, building up the Liberal Party of Canada so that it represents something that appeals to Canadians as an alternative to the Harper Conservatives, so that it has a solid ideational (but not ideological) and financial foundation. He just hasn’t gotten the job done. I don’t see why we should trust him (or the snakes who campaign in favour of him) as leader.

    Thus, the ‘draft Kinsella’ campaign begins.

  14. Mom says:

    Trudeau….someday, but I would really like to see someone like Martha Hall Findlay help rebuild the party from the grassroots level with some new bright minds adding to the mix (is there a liberal Nathan Cullen out there?). The environment will ultimately be back in the headlines whether we like it or not..and the liberals need to be the new greens….

    • james curran says:

      “some new bright minds”? It ain’t Martha. Last time I checked though, the young 40 year old Trudeau is shiny, new, bright and tough. Kinda blows Nathan outta the water. Not to mention he’s a rock star wherever he goes. Don’t believe me? Show up at any one of his events. Tonight would be a good start.

      • MCBellecourt says:

        One of the biggest mistakes for the Liberal Party to make would be to underestimate Nathan Cullen.

        • Mulletaur says:

          Nathan Cullen for Liberal leader ! Oh, er, yes, right.

          • MCBellecourt says:

            Where did I suggest Cullen for Lib leader? Nathan Cullen is all NDP, but he is also not to be underestimated. That will become evident as time passes, now that he is the NDP House leader.

            Nathan Cullen is simply not interested in being a rock star, either. He is, though, a very passionate and dedicated young politician who cares deeply about the issues in his riding, and that will evolve into his conduct in his new role. I live in the riding next door to his and he enjoys the respect of many a voter here.

  15. Kelly says:

    Question…after reading Warren’s initial post, did Bob Rae barf his breakfast all over his iPad?

  16. Monica says:

    Yay! Might not win, might be too young, but yay anyway!

  17. Philippe says:

    That’s superb news! He will bring lots of excitement into the race. I was, and always will be a fan of the Trudeau name.

    Contrary to those who say he might not be ready to get into the ring with Harper – my feeling is that his “unrefined” and “from the heart” orator skills may be his advantage. Whatever you say about Justin, he speaks from the heart, and it shows. I hope he’s not “coached” to lose that, because it will resonate. Not sounding too polished should, and can be leveraged to his advantage.

  18. dave says:

    2 odd things came together as I read this message thread:
    The thread itself, and the ongoing speculation about who is going to run, who will prresent liberalism well,who will do a good job for liberalism in this country;
    and, a pal recently tipped me onto Eliz May’s point of order about Bill C -38. I read it in Hansard. Her presentation is, to me, almost ‘Cotler-like'(a high standard). Responses from the ND’s and Libs are coming. Seems to me a very important point of order for the Speaker to deal with.

    So, when they clunked together in my head, what happened in my head is I asked myself: “Hey, why don’t those Liberals consider talking Lizzie May into taking a run at the leadership of the party?”

    • ROFL!! I know EMay, having run about half her leadership campaign (The Ontario half, plus national canvass) when she beat out David Chernushenko for leadership of the GPC. She is a great speaker, and can scrap it out with the best. she is sharp as a whip, she is a policy wonk who understands Environmental policy better than anybody I have ever met or heard of. What she isn’t is a consensus builder or a politician. She is introspective, and has some kind of martyr complex that makes her very hard to work closely with. I promise you, she is neither able to build a winning campaign team nor would the Liberals benefit from her sitting in the big chair. A brilliant and succesful Minister for the Environment, a feather in the cap of a Liberal cabinet ( even if she were a Green feather), but leader? nope.

      • dave says:

        Ok…maybe the only good thing in my suggestion is that it gave you a ROFL. they’re good for a person’s blood pressure. I figure she has been doing a pretty good job in the House for a single member. Sometimes, too, I think that people do not jump into leadership already ‘the leader.’ They have to grow into the role. I sometimes thought that Chretien was a bit like this. Maybe she would be able to grow into such a role.
        Anyway, since the LIbs are reaching out in their voting system, they might also reach out in allowing this one or that one to run for leader.
        May as Environment Minister? How about May as Minister of Industry, or Resources?
        Let’s see if anyone else has something to chip in beside a kind of sappy longing for a return to Trudeaumania.

        • bluegreenblogger says:

          yes she surely is doing a good job. I am not a fan, but the prepared text for the point of order raised on the budget omnibus bill is to put it simply, masterful:
          http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/06/04/point-of-order-2/

          have a read, and Conbots beware!

          But remember that she is an extremely divisive leader, who oversaw the haemorrhaging of the GPC EDA’s a ground organization. She has gifts, but not the right sort to lead a party

  19. David_M says:

    If Justin Trudeau runs for the leadership of the LPC and wins, you can be sure he will get press coverage on the campaign trail the likes of which Ignatieff and Dion could never get. This could be an upside or a downside. Its not like he suffers from lack of name recognition but the exposure will be unprecedented.
    It will be a matter of foot in mouth avoidance as mentioned above.
    I also think the 35 and under voter turnout will make pollster cry a river after they spend months telling us how JT has no chance of winning.

  20. Jim Hanna says:

    I heard from a friend a few months ago that he was lining up organizers…I am not sure how this will go down in Western Canada, though. But given the party’s “new” leadership selection method, he’d be almost unbeatable…

  21. Jordan says:

    If he actually runs and wins both the “Quebecois” leaders will actually have been born in Ottawa.

  22. !o! says:

    Well this is something I can get behind. I’m pretty philosophically to the left of the liberals on most anything, but I can really see people rallying behind him.

    The overwhelming sentiment that bubbles everywhere right now is of my-canada-being-destroyed. As a personality he exudes unity, nostalgia, and dignity. If he scores on policy/credibility the conservatives don’t have a snowballs chance in hell.

    Time is short though.

  23. JamesHalifax says:

    Warren, I won’t name the blog, but I do recall when Trudeau was first elected, an especially nasty “blogger” wrote “There is never an avalanche around when you need one”… (I’m sure you know of whom I speak)

    I suspect Bob Rae may be thinking the same thing right about now.

  24. JamesHalifax says:

    To be honest, it probably would be best if Trudeau took out Rae. Rae wouldn’t have the traction in Quebec that Trudeau already has, and Trudeau doesn’t have the baggage in Ontario that Rae has. (that was probably part of the reasoning behind this…whomever convinced Trudeau to run, probably thought the same thing)

    As for the West…..they would have detested either RAE or Trudeau, so in the end it doesn’t really matter.

  25. Lynn -- CFA forever says:

    Great news — he may not be ready yet but I look forward to a revival of interest in the party. He is young and can attract the young voters, he is intelligent, he has history with the party (a double edge sword — would you want to be compared to your very successful parent forever??) and appears to be a young man of substance. For all of us who have hung in through the good and the bad times for the party ,IMO we are not declaring him the messiah, but the young man brings a great deal to the table. Now I want some real substantive policy that gives the undecided or those who no longer support the party a reason to pay attention, we are a nation of reasonable folks who do not like Harper’s vision for Canada — let’s articulate our vision and follow our new leader (whoever that may end up being).

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