Broken wrist keeps wife from attending
By MARIAN SCOTT, The GazetteApril 4, 2011 11:21 AM
Quebec’s most photogenic political family had a small accident on the way to Justin Trudeau’s campaign launch Sunday.
Trudeau’s wife, TV personality Sophie Grégoire, broke her wrist skateboarding when the family headed outdoors for a little exercise before a Liberal brunch in Papineau, where Trudeau is seeking re-election.
Fortunately, Trudeau’s mother, Margaret, 62, with her daughter Alicia Kemper, 22, were on hand to support the cause and dote over grandchildren Xavier, 3, and Ella Grace, 2.
Grégoire’s absence was the only hitch in an old-style Liberal gathering for 350 party supporters where Trudeau slammed the Harper government for “values that go against those of Canadians and especially against Quebecers,” such as building mega-prisons instead of investing in crime prevention and social programs.
Also in attendance were Denis Coderre, Liberal incumbent in Bourassa, and the party’s former Quebec lieutenant; St. Léonard-St. Michel incumbent Massimo Pacetti; and Senator Lucie Pépin.
Trudeau, 39, faces a challenge from former Bloc Québécois MP Vivian Barbot, whom he defeated in 2008 by 1,189 votes. The riding – a former Liberal stronghold under cabinet ministers Pierre Pettigrew and André Ouellet – is considered one to watch in the May 2 vote.
Trudeau warned that supporting the Bloc would amount to voting for another Tory government.
“If you want to get rid of this Harper government, there’s only one choice: It’s the Liberal Party of Canada,” he told cheering supporters.
The Liberal immigration critic, Trudeau painted himself as a devoted constituency man who has worked on 1,200 immigration and employment-insurance cases in his 21/2 years as MP of the multicultural riding.
During his first election campaign, constituents often compared him to his late father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, but this time around people are judging him on his own merits, he said.
“I like spending time with people more than my father did,” he said. “My father liked people, but in small doses or from a distance.”
Although the elder Trudeau disliked mingling at cocktail receptions, Trudeau said he is a people person who relishes every opportunity to meet and greet.
Scout and Guide groups from Trinity Rosemount Church led the hall in a rousing rendition of O Canada. Area commissioner Philip Massarelli said the Scout group, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is not affiliated with the Liberal Party. The children had been scheduled to sing at the riding association’s annual brunch before the election was called, he said.
Francine Serouille, 67, president of a seniors’ housing project across the street from the Lajeunesse St. community centre, said Trudeau’s winning personality makes him a favourite with residents – but she is cool to party leader Michael Ignatieff.
“It’s not Ignatieff who attracts me,” she said, “it’s Trudeau. I find (Ignatieff) cold and distant, while Trudeau is more our kind.”
Trudeau’s mother concurred.
“He’s got a lot of me in him,” Margaret Trudeau said. “Justin’s very comfortable with people,” she added – unlike his dad. “Pierre preferred solitude.”
Chandra B. Singh, president of the India Canada Association of Montreal, also showed up to support Trudeau – just four days after attending a West Island rally for Harper, where he sported a blue Conservative sticker.
Looking a tad sheepish after one reporter remarked on his presence at both meetings, Singh, 72, a longtime Liberal, said he plans to vote for Trudeau.
“He’s a good person. He’s following his father,” he said.
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