Justin Trudeau seeks the challenge of federal politics

Trudeau, who hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau — a man regarded by many Canadians as the country's greatest prime minister — is competing for the nomination against two other contenders.

Mary Deros, the city councillor for Montreal's Park Extension district for the last nine years, and Basilio Giordano, editor of the Italian newspaper il Cittadino Canadese, are also running. The decision will be made by riding association members at a meeting that will take place on April 29.

"If I'm going to have a career in politics nationally, I need to be able to make sure that I do that — grounded in the kinds of concerns that people face right here on the ground," Trudeau told the Examiner. "In this particular riding, the concerns they have here are exactly the reflection of the challenges that Canada's going to be facing for the next 20 to 50 years."

Trudeau's dive into politics has caused some to observe that it signals the possible commencement of a political dynasty. To such suggestions, he replies, "The only thing that is a continuation for me is the deep sense of possibility associated with politics. That's how I was raised. I was raised with an idea that politics can do something tremendously good—not just at the highest level, but in the day-to-day lives of people. People have had their lives improved immeasurably by things such as official bilingualism, the charter of rights and freedoms and various other initiatives."

Trudeau conceded that he is benefiting to some extent from his father's name. "It gives me a little better name recognition, but that doesn't necessarily help me at all," he said. "Everything that will help will be what I do on the ground and me personally. Yes, the last name is nice to have and I'm fiercely proud of my father, but the work has to be done by me."

Asked whether he finds it challenging being the son of a great man, he replied, "My father always demanded that we be true to who we were … My expectations for myself are fairly high, but everyone else's expectations are something I worry about too much."

Trudeau disagreed with the idea that he entered the race with the advantage of being famous. "I see myself as coming in with a big disadvantage here," he said. "This is not a place where people are quick to welcome you if you're not real. And my challenge is to be real.

"My challenge is to connect with people and to demonstrate that I care about their concerns," he added. "Because I do, and I have everything to prove here and a lot of disadvantages. And that's exactly why I chose this riding so I could demonstrate to people, and people of this community particularly, that I'm here to serve them."