Justin Trudeau and the Trudeau name

Here at CanadianMomEh I like to comment on Canadian events, or even international events viewed from a Canadian perspective. One such event was Justin Trudeau’s throwing his name into the hat as a candidate to lead the Liberal Party of Canada. This is not a sponsored  blog; nor by writing this am I promising to vote for him. I can, however speak fondly of the Trudeau name.

My parents immigrated to Canada in 1976 from Germany. Before that, from Pakistan. It was the policies and character of Pierre Elliott Trudeau that drew my father to this glorious country of ours; specifically his Multiculturalism Policy of 1971.

I remember back in grade three we were given an assignment to take home. We had to interview our parents and ask them who their heroes were. I took mine home and sat my dad down at the kitchen table, not knowing what to expect. When I asked him the question, he responded with Pierre Elliott Trudeau; “a great man”. At eight years old I had never heard of the man, and pressed further for what made him so great. My father responded that he was a visionary, who helped shape this beautiful country we live in. My father went on to express how proud he was the day he passed Prime Minister Trudeau in the Plateau neighborhood of Montreal. He stopped and they shook hands. My dad had the opportunity to meet his hero and express his sentiments.

The next vivid memory I have is of the day when the late Prime Minister passed away. I was in college at the time when we heard the news. I called my dad and remember his sombre voice. He commented that this country had lost a great man. We watched the funeral as a family. Justin with his siblings walking alongside his father’s casket.

Fast forward years later. My dad was recently telling me of the various Montreal Pakistani community events he has attended in which Justin Trudeau has been present.  They were at a Pakistani instrumental concert this past summer. It was hot in the room, there wasn’t much air and the windows were high. Justin got up on a table, reached up and cracked open the window. That action alone spoke to the hearts of many of the women in the room. For my father, it reconfirmed his vision of his hero, now seen in his son.

I have yet to learn what Justin Trudeau stands for, what his views are on the issues that matter to me and my community, but I, as many other Canadians, know where he is coming from, and sometimes that is a good start.