Trudeau 'undecided' about Liberal leadership
Liberal MP Justin Trudeau says he's undecided about whether he wants to replace Michael Ignatieff as leader of their party following its historic defeat in Monday's federal election.
The party's disastrous results, which saw Prime Minister Stephen Harper secure a majority government and installed the NDP as the Official Opposition, cost Ignatieff his job.
Trudeau, one of only 34 re-elected Liberal MPs, said in an interview Wednesday on CBC News Network that the results were difficult to watch, but not entirely surprising. He said the Liberal party "has been in trouble for a number of years," because it hasn't been able to connect with Canadians.
"We saw this coming, although not this bad," Trudeau said.
After being reduced from 77 to 34 seats, Ignatieff announced Tuesday that he is resigning as leader of the party. Ignatieff lost his seat in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. The Liberals will meet as a caucus next week and choose an interim leader to head the party until a leadership convention is held.
When asked if he's interested in the job, Trudeau responded that he wants to see the Liberal party get strong again. "I'm undecided, to be bluntly honest. I don't know whether me being leader is the answer," he said.
Trudeau said that because of his name and the legacy associated with it through his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, "a lot of people are turning to me," and that it "concerns" him.
"Because the work that needs to be done is work on the ground. It's not going to be fixed by picking a cute leader or the right leader or whatever. It's going to happen by us putting our nose to the grindstone and really, really leaning into it, and right now I've committed and I am committed to making sure that the Liberal Party does those things," said Trudeau, who was first elected in 2008.
"I honestly don't know if me as leader is something that would help the party or the country," he said.
Trudeau said that with two young children, he would have to take his family into consideration when making any decision about going for the leadership.
"I'm not sure that I can be the leader I want to be and be the father I want to be at the same time at this point in my life," he said.
Trudeau said among the challenges that lie ahead in rebuilding the Liberal party is fundraising, and he acknowledged that the Conservatives are far better at it than Liberals.
Rebuilding the party is going to be even more challenging with fewer MPs on Parliament Hill, he added. He also said that knowing 43 of his colleagues won't be returning to Ottawa with him was one of the most difficult parts of Monday night.
He called their defeats a "collective failure."
"We all failed together in making sure that our values, our vision for this country, which I know is shared by an awful lot of Canadians, but wasn't chosen on election night," he said.
