Like Father Like Son?

Pierre Trudeau (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Gregoire at the eTalk Festival Party, during the Toronto International Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was born on December 25, 1971.

 

Justin was the second Canadian child to be born when one of his parents was Prime Minister. The first was Sir John A. Macdonald’s youngest daughter, Margaret Mary Macdonald. Justin’s younger brothers, Alexandre (Sasha) (born on December 25, 1973) and Michel (born December 25, 1975) were third and fourth respectively.

 

Not only was his father involved in politics, but his maternal grandfather, James Sinclair, was a federal cabinet minister.

 

Justin Trudeau’s parents in 1977 when he was 6 years old. In 2009, Trudeau spoke of his parent’s marriage. “They loved each other incredibly, passionately, completely. But there was 30 years between them and my Mom never was an equal partner in what encompassed my father’s life, his duty, his country.”

 

Justin emerged prominently in his own right in October 2000 after delivering a memorable eulogy at his father’s funeral.

 

Trudeau has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from McGill University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of British Columbia. After graduating, he worked as a social studies and French teacher at West Point Grey Academy and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver, B.C.. From 2002 to 2004, he studied engineering at the Universite de Montreal. He also started a Masters of Arts degree in Environmental Geography at McGill University, before suspending his program to seek public office.

 

On May 28, 2005, Justin Trudeau married Sophie Gregoire, a former model and Quebec television host. They have two children.

 

Trudeau has used his public status to promote various causes. For instance, he and his family, started the Kokanee Glacier Alpine Campaign for winter sports safety in 2000, two years after his brother, Michel Trudeau, died in an avalanche during a ski trip.

 

In 2002, Trudeau criticized the British Columbia’s decision to suspend its funding for a public avalanche warning system.

 

In 2005, Trudeau fought against a proposed $100 million zinc mine that he argued would poison the Nahanni River, a United Nations World Heritage Site in the Northwest Territories.

 

Rumours circulated in early 2007 that Trudeau would run a by-election in the Montreal riding of Outremont, but he instead announced that he would seek the Liberal nomination in Papineau in the following general election. He won the nomination on April 29, 2007.

 

On October 2, 2012, Trudeau held a political rally in Montreal to launch his run for the Liberal Leadership.

 

Related articles

• Leadership about ‘drawing the best’ out of people, Trudeau says (ctvnews.ca)
• Justin Trudeau defies critics at Islamic conference (canada.com)
• Justin Trudeau addresses controversial Muslim conference (sunnewsnetwork.ca)
• Justin Trudeau says he has some of his father’s talents (sunnewsnetwork.ca)
• Justin Trudeau tells Islamic conference that critics of his appearance there are ‘short-sighted’ (news.nationalpost.com)
• Trudeau not totally correct invoking Laurier at Islamic conference (sunnewsnetwork.ca)
• Trudeau defies critics who questioned his appearance at an Islamic conference (calgaryherald.com)
• Justin Trudeau surfaces to talk about 2010 video interview (o.canada.com)
• Justin Trudeau’s anti-Alberta remarks aren’t going over well in Quebec either (news.nationalpost.com)
• Trudeau fans ready to recruit supporters (blogs.windsorstar.com)