Among other things -
Actually, the article in the Globe and Mail from which this quotation is drawn, articulates many similar, strong ideas for rebuilding the party.
For all that the Conservatives would like to dismiss his as a lightweight, Trudeau’s openness to other people’s ideas is a refreshing change from the consensus-free hardball of the right wing.
Sad to hear about Rita MacNeil. I always enjoyed her Christmas specials and her TV show. A terrific voice, and by all accounts, a very nice person. Rest well, Rita.
Second that.
I don’t care, nor was I suprised he was elected leader of the liberal party. But I will be disappointed if Canadians choose style over substance during the next federal election. He had very little in the way of policies during the leadership campaign compared to his counter parts. Because let’s admit it, it was the safe thing for him to do. I don’t want a “safe” politician.
One thing I will predict as far as his policies go for the next election, mainly to woo Quebecers of course. One of his policies will focus on strengthening bilingualism.
An MP up my way a wilderness canoe guide, and he’s one hell of a good MP. P.E.T. was very much into wilderness canoeing, and all his sons were into outdoor adventure recreation (including the one that hung about my canoe club for summer – a terrific fellow). All in all, I’m more inclined to vote for someone with his background than someone with a less well-rounded background.
That being said, he does not have anything close to the intellectual chops that his father did when his father was his age and younger. P.E.T. had a deep understanding of Canada – it’s history, it’s politics, it’s business. He had a vision for Canada early on in his career (have a boo at the early writings of him and Levesque). He had a deep knowledge of the mechanics of Parliament and legislation. Justin, as much as I like the guy, simply is not in the same league as his father.
I hope he is able to re-build the Liberal party, and I hope he and the party is open to uniting the left. It does not take the skills of one of the intelligentsia (such as his father) to do that. It will take the skills of someone who can motivate and persuade others. For example, someone who can motivate and persuade people to huck off waterfalls.
I see that Trudeau hasn’t really released his platform or campaign strategy, but that article is engaging in some enlightened speculation, including this bit:
And he would also like world peace? That’s not a strong platform at this point (not to mention that education is the purview of the provinces, not the federal government), and he’s not going to be making any friends in Alberta* and Saskatchewan if he doesn’t get a hell of a lot more specific on how he’s going to “save the environment.”
*And he’s got an uphill battle there already, after his comments about how Alberta was running Canada badly:
And by “Canada” you mean the original four provinces, right? 
Alberta is part of Canada?
Okay, I’ll give you that - PET knew exactly what he was doing to Alberta - he just didn’t care.
Somehow I can’t imagine Justin Trudeau discussing trade or economic policies with Angela Merkel, David Cameron, François Hollande, or Barack Obama for example.
I think he is in over his head. Marc Garneau would have been a magnificent choice; Pierre with Hair, not so much
I don’t know why the name ‘Justin’ makes me think of boy bands, not politicians. Something I’d normally shake my head at and overlook, but Justin himself reinforces that image.
I don’t know whether to beliebe you or not.
Yeah, you’re right. I can’t get past the name.
Agreed.
Tonight is the night when Rush gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Long overdue, not that much of an honour any more, but… I just think it’s remarkable that they’ve been together for almost 40 years with no major burn-outs, temper tantrums or other bullshit.
That’s one of those things where my first reaction was, “They weren’t inducted like 20 years ago?” I guess not. 
You’ll get used to it. We have a fairly major politician named Jason, which is not only a very similar name but is equally recent in popularity; “Jason” really only was becoming popular as a boys’ name around the time Jason Kenney (b. 1968) and Justin Trudeau (b. 1971) were born. Both Justin and Jason were essentially nonexistent as boys’ names until the mid-60s, but Jason took off maybe a year or two earlier.
Once he’s been around awhile people will become accustomed to it.
As to his skill for being Prime Minister, he doesn’t seem to stand for much, but I’m not sure what Stephen Harper stands for anymore, either.
I don’t think it’s actually Justin Trudeau’s first name that’s the one Uzi can’t get past.
And why should I? The only reason we know of Justin Trudeau is because of his father. I’m sure there are worse reasons to choose a potential PM, but I damned well know there are better ones.
Hey, it worked for “Honest Billy” Pitt.
To be fair to Justin T, I can’t think of a single case in human history where a child following in their father’s footsteps has done a worse job than their parent, no matter what the vocation was.