Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, an old and seemingly contradictory term in its own way but a good way to describe the questions surrounding Tuesday's entry of MP Justin Trudeau into the federal Liberal leadership race.
After months of speculation, Trudeau the Younger gathered the faithful at a community hall in his Montreal riding of Papineau to announce he was running to lead the Liberal Party.
For openers, it's clear the Liberals need a leader. Since the accident-prone campaign of Stephane Dion, followed by the out-of-touch struggle of Michael Ignatieff, the Grits have had to resort to Bob Rae to carry the flag. Rae has done a reasonable job of maintaining some semblance of national presence for the 35-member Liberal caucus, but he's well past his best-before-date and there's no question the Liberal Party needs a fresh and younger face.
But is Justin Trudeau the leader to take the once-mighty natural governing party back to centre stage?
Good question.
He has name recognition, a genuine asset in politics. He's young and has a ton of energy. He's run two successful campaigns in a tough Montreal riding, and unseated a BQ incumbent for his first win in 2008.
The Ottawa press gallery makes the case that Justin Trudeau lacks his father's intellect. To date they're correct. His only front-page headline came from an unprintable outburst during a House of Commons debate.
However he has his father's toughness.
That was first evident in his decision to run against a sitting BQ MP. The Trudeau name in separatist Quebec is not exactly a plus. Indeed, Justin Trudeau follows his father's federalist leanings and in 2006, before running for office, he said, "Quebec nationalism is an old idea from the 19th century based on smallness of thought and not relevant to modern Quebec."
That comment alone gets my vote, but there's more to leadership in 21st century Canada than strong opposition to a fading political movement.
Presuming Justin Trudeau pulls off a successful campaign - and he could be running against Montreal MP and former astronaut Marc Garneau as well as Liberal MP and party heavyweight Denis Coderre - he still has to resurrect the party membership base, attract new candidates and craft party policy.
During his leadership announcement he said, "It is the middle class, not the political class that unites this country. It is the middle class that makes this country great."This is a good beginning and one that could bode well for further policy development. If his goal is to set the party aside from Stephen Harper's Conservatives and Thomas Mulcair's New Democrats, then staking out the middle ground is the way to go.
Justin Trudeau has many models to follow, yet for success he must show some constraint and present policies with defined boundaries. He has a name to live up to, but at a distance. His age and newness on the political scene give him the opportunity to relate to a disenchanted generation of post-baby-boomer non-voters yet he has to recognize the success and the reality of the Canadian market economy.
If he's looking for a Liberal political father figure it should be Paul Martin, not Pierre Trudeau. Justin Trudeau has three tough years to get it together. Is he a flash in the pan or a serious contender?
I hope for the sake of the country it's the latter. History shows a strong three-party system leads to good government. It's not too likely Justin Trudeau will get my vote, but if he's as good as I think he is, he'll certainly get my - and the rest of the country's - attention.
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The bucket trip.
This is week one of our bucket trip visiting far-flung family members. To date we've put 3,945 kilometres on our trusty Toyota Highlander, have travelled though five Canadian provinces and four U.S. States. Cheapest Canadian pump gas is still Alberta at $1.12 a litre. Currently we're at a rural cottage area in Central Michigan and gas is $3.76 a gallon, that's .98 cents a litre.
On a few rambling notes, the economy of Saskatchewan is booming. We had supper in Regina with Gerry Offet - our former IPG director who now consults to the Saskatchewan government - and found that the province has taken an aggressive and consistent stance in international marketing, which is working. There's a lesson here for B.C.
If you think Prince George has potholes and frost heaves, drive around Winnipeg. This would be a great city to be in the spring and shock absorber business. Going east, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario is a charming community with an old yet vibrant and safe downtown. Not one inner-city building with bars on the windows.
Talking to Americans about the U.S presidential race, I find a strong divide, which is a polite way of saying this is shaping up to be a nasty event. In Republican circles every imaginable problem from the sagging economy to the drought in the U.S. Midwest is directly attributable to the administration of President Obama. More on this next week, but to date this is not a thinking person's election.
