Following in political footsteps

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Ex-PM Paul Martin (left) says Justin Trudeau (above) will be compared to his father, Pierre Trudeau. (ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES)

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Paul Martin (POSTMEDIA ARCHIVES)

OTTAWA -- The crowds were giddy with excitement at the Montreal celebration.

The son of a long-serving Liberal parliamentarian had just jumped into politics. He promised to help revive the party, become a future leader and hopefully, a future prime minister.

The scene might have taken place in Papineau, Que., in 2008, when Justin Trudeau won the nomination to run for the Liberals. But it actually played out three decades earlier, when Paul Martin jumped into the political sphere, carrying on the legacy of his father, Paul Martin Sr.

Martin the elder was an MP for 33 years and a cabinet minister under four prime ministers. He ran three times to lead the party, losing in 1948 to Louis St. Laurent, 1958 to Lester Pearson and 1968 to Pierre Trudeau.

In 1988, after establishing himself as a business tycoon, Martin the younger followed his father's path and entered politics. It began as a run to be the MP in the Montreal riding of LaSalle-Émard.

"Some would say that I'm running because it's in the blood, it's in the genes, and it's true," Martin said in 1988, the night he accepted the nomination.

And immediately the questions began: Would he be like his father? Would he fulfil his father's dream of becoming prime minister?

On Friday, Martin acknowledged there was a lot of attention on him because of his father. He said when he first ran, there were two well-known people with the same name -- his father and a chef in Montreal, Pol Martin.

"I always maintained I won my election because half my voters thought I was one of the other two," he told the Free Press.

The comparisons to his father never entirely went away but as Martin established himself, he says the questions generally became less frequent. In part, he says that had to do with their different roles, with his father being a cabinet minister focused on social services and he being the minister of finance.

Justin Trudeau is inevitably compared to his more famous father and is often judged on his father's record. In Alberta, he will face questions about the National Energy Program. In Quebec, it will be about the Constitution.

But Martin said Justin Trudeau has proven he has no plan to be Pierre Trudeau the second: "Right from the beginning he has made clear he is going to be his own man."

That included not running in a riding where he could coast to victory on his pedigree. Justin Trudeau had to fight to win the Liberal nomination in Papineau, and then he had to fight to win the seat back for the Liberals from a Bloc Québécois incumbent.

During a visit to Alberta after launching his leadership bid Oct. 2, Trudeau told Calgarians he did not plan to divide Canadians over natural resources, a reference to the National Energy Program of his father, which still limits Liberal popularity in Alberta.

Family dynasties are old hat in Canadian politics. Parliamentary records show since Confederation, 93 MPs have seen at least one child follow in their path. Five MPs in Canada's current Parliament had fathers who were also MPs.

Most often, they represent the same or a similar political party, but not always. The late Jack Layton, who was the NDP leader and a Toronto MP from 2003 until he died in 2011, was the son of Conservative cabinet minister Robert Layton, for example.

Justin Trudeau's entry into politics marked the third time a child of a prime minister followed his father's career choice.

The sons of both Sir John A. Macdonald and Louis St. Laurent got into politics. Hugh John Macdonald was an MP for Winnipeg and went on to become premier of Manitoba in 1900. Jean-Paul St. Laurent was a Quebec MP from 1955 to 1958.

But Trudeau is the first child of a prime minister to seek the leadership of his party, and if successful, possibly become prime minister.

It doesn't mean parents always want their children to follow in their footsteps. Although Paul Martin Sr. sang his son's praises and wished him well, he didn't encourage him to run. "He didn't want me to go into it," Martin said.

The comparisons to his dad were inevitable, he says, as they are now for Justin Trudeau. But the younger Martin said he was never pressured by the comparisons to the point of being unable to cope.

It's not unfair to make such comparisons, he said.

"Are you influenced by what your father has done?" he said. "Yes. Of course."

In fact, he said his father was the greatest influence in his life.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Parents and their children who have served in public office

Sir John A. Macdonald, first prime minister of Canada; son Hugh John Macdonald, premier of Manitoba

Robert Layton, MP and federal cabinet minister; son Jack Layton, MP, leader of the federal NDP, leader of official Opposition

Elmer MacKay, MP and cabinet minister; Peter MacKay, MP and cabinet minister

Marion Dewar, MP and mayor of Ottawa; son Paul Dewar, MP

Joe Ghiz, premier of P.E.I.; son Robert Ghiz, premier of P.E.I.

Ernest Manning, premier of Alberta, senator; son Preston Manning, MP and leader of the official Opposition

Paul Joseph Martin, MP and cabinet minister; son Paul Martin, prime minister of Canada

John Clement, provincial cabinet minister in Ontario; son Tony Clement, provincial cabinet minister, federal cabinet minister

Romeo LeBlanc, cabinet minister, governor general; son Dominic LeBlanc, MP

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 20, 2012 A3