canada's disney prince just can't wait to be king
Justin Trudeau will announce his long-awaited candidacy for the Liberal leadership next Tuesday, Quebec media are reporting.
Montreal’s La Presse says Liberal sources have confirmed Trudeau’s leadership intentions and he will make the announcement in a news conference in his home riding of Papineau. Radio-Canada has also reported Trudeau will be running.
The son of one of Canada’s most contentious figures, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, had previously been non-committal to running for the leadership of the third-place Liberal party, saying he wanted to spend time with his young family.
But as the National Post‘s John Ivison has pointed out, there has been little doubt that Trudeau would throw his hat into the ring eventually.
“The result is a foregone conclusion: Justin Trudeau will enter the race and he will win.
The last remaining hurdle to his entry was the spending limit - too low and the fear was that Mr. Trudeau would not be able to respond to Conservative attack ads mid-campaign, once it became clear he was winning. That limit has now been set at $950,000, with a series of exemptions for travel, fund-raising and research that could add up to another $500,000.
The Trudeau camp will not confirm anything officially but Mr. Trudeau had already made up his mind to run, if the rules did not hobble his candidacy. They do not, and the National Post has now confirmed that he will make it official in due course and all the wishful thinkers, currently enjoying their 15 minutes in the spotlight, will be well advised to save themselves the $75,000 entry fee.”
A new leader for the Liberals will be chosen next April, officially replacing Michael Ignatieff, who led the Liberals to their most disastrous election in history last year. Bob Rae has lead the Liberals on an interim basis in the time since.
While Trudeau is considered to be the frontrunner with a Herculean lead, other potential contenders include Liberal MPs Marc Garneau, Denis Coderre and Dominic Leblanc and former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay.
Trudeau. 40, is one of Canada’s only household names when it comes to politics and has garnered a significant social media presence. According to Politwitter.ca, only Prime Minister Stephen Harper has more followers on Twitter than Trudeau among Canadian politicians.
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