Justin Trudeau confirms bid for Liberal leadership

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MONTREAL – Justin Trudeau launched his bid to be Liberal leader at an evening rally on Tuesday.

Hundreds of supporters in Trudeau’s Montreal riding of Papineau cheered as the MP confirmed his entry into the leadership race.

Trudeau, the eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, says he wants to reconnect the Liberal party with the ordinary people who gave it life.

On Wednesday, he’ll embark on a cross-Canada tour designed in part to prove he’s more than just his famous father’s telegenic offspring.

“He’s one of the few Liberals that actually excites Liberals,” Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Alberta said.

But Bratt said Trudeau must demonstrate that he is more than his famous name, adding that the senior Trudeau left a bitter legacy in the west and parts of Quebec.

“The biggest strength and the biggest weakness that Justin Trudeau has is his last name,” he said.

He added that Trudeau’s focus has “got to be rebuilding the Liberal party from the grassroots all the way up.”

The 40-year-old MP has already emerged as a frontrunner in the leadership race but Bratt said he needs to combat his “lightweight” image.

“Some of that disappeared in his famous boxing match but now he’s an intellectual lightweight,” he said.

Fellow Montreal MP Marc Garneau, Canada’s first man in space, is also considering a run. As is New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc.

The contest officially begins Nov. 14 and culminates on April 14.

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