One of Canada's most prominent politicians is coming to Prince George.
Justin Trudeau would like to become much more prominent by becoming the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. As part of his bid for party boss, he is holding meetings in Prince on Jan. 23.
Details of the visit are yet to be determined, said Liberal Party of Canada riding association president Ben Levine.
"There is a leadership contest going on right now and he obviously feels it is important to include Prince George directly in that process," said Levine. "We are looking forward to spending time with him, and having him become more familiar with our area."
Trudeau is no stranger to B.C. Both his mother's and father's sides of the family ( Margaret Trudeau and the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) have a number of ties in this province. Justin Trudeau was most recently in the region in 2006 when he hiked on the mountain near Valemount named after his father.
On that occasion Trudeau met with local residents such as alpine specialist Willie Phisterer who spent a lot of time with his father on hiking expeditions, Citizen columnist Valerie Giles who worked in the Prime Minister's Office during Pierre Trudeau's first government, and Yellowhead Helicopters proprietor Garry Foreman who piloted the former prime minister on numerous mountain treks.
Levine said Justin Trudeau's connections in the area would undoubtedly make his visit a busy one. A number of activities and functions are being considered for the brief time Trudeau will be available in Prince George, he said, so . He said the key priorities would be meeting with First Nations and civic leaders, seeing UNBC, touching base with the general public, as well as those especially interested in federal leadership.
"I'm just going to let Prince George be Prince George," said Levine. "He called us, he wanted to come here, so I'm confident he will enjoy his impressions of our city, but most importantly what impression is he going to leave on us?"
The party leadership convention will be held in Ottawa on April 14 after a series of debates across Canada (the first is in Vancouver three days before Trudeau is set to arrive in Prince George).
Trudeau is one of seven leadership candidates, and the second one to visit Prince George in the past year, the first being B.C. Member of Parliament Joyce Murray who came in May in her capacity as critic for small business and tourism.
