Friday January 12, 2007
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 12, 2007
Is Justin Trudeau set to run as MP?
Justin Trudeau is about to enter federal politics—well, according to everyone but him, that is.
While the 35-year-old school teacher and academic is remaining coy about his intentions, a report published in Montréal’s French-language daily La Presse on Tue, Jan 9, claims that the eldest son of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau is planning on running as a Liberal candidate in the next federal election in Outremont, a riding located in the centre of the Island of Montréal that is home to wealthy Francophone families and a sizeable Jewish community.
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Outremont is considered to be an extremely “safe” riding for the party—since its creation in 1933, the Liberals have failed to win the seat only once, in 1988—and the area’s current MP, former Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, has indicated that he does not plan to run in the next election.
Despite his denials and deflections (“I have no comment to make at this time,” Trudeau wrote in an email to the Montréal Gazette), the increasing likelihood of Trudeau’s entrance into the House of Commons has set political pundits and journalists abuzz. A recent article in Maclean’s magazine headlined “His Secret’s Out” claims that Trudeau hinted in an interview that he would make an announcement regarding his future in politics sometime after Christmas, while a close friend of the supposed star candidate reportedly told the magazine “Off the record, I think he’s pretty much there.” (Source: Vue)