Justin Trudeau poised to replace Stephen Harper
Canada's Global TV is projecting Trudeau's Liberals will win a majority; virtually assuring he will be Prime Minister for the next four years.
1. His dad was Prime Minister
Justin is the son of Pierre-Elliott Trudeau who was Prime Minister from 1968-79 and again from 1980 to 1984. Justin was born when his father was 55 and Pierre died in 2000. As the son of the PM he had some notoriety in his early life but first rose to prominence after giving the eulogy at his father's funeral. Also in his family file, his youngest brother Michel died tragically in an avalanche at 23.
2. He's moved the Liberal Party to the left
His election strategy was to squeeze out the left-wing NDP party by outflanking them. The clearest case of this was promising to run three years of deficits to fund infrastructure while the NDP said it would balance budgets. In general, he has pledged to govern well to the left of current PM Harper and even to the left of the previous Liberal governments of Chretien and Martin.
3. He has a reputation for being soft
His dad was a fiery intellectual but his personality takes more after his 'flower child' mother Margaret who divorced Trudeau when he was PM and was rumored to have affairs with Ted Kennedy and Mick Jagger.
Despite the reputation, he's proven to be a shrewd politician and risk taker. He took a tremendous risk in taking place in a celebrity boxing match against a Conservative Senator in 2012. After surviving an early battering, Trudeau knocked him out.
