MONTREAL - Justin Trudeau may be the darling crown prince of the Liberal Party but his bid to be the next candidate in Montreal's gritty Papineau riding will end Sunday without an easy coronation.
With rumours of an anyone-but-Justin campaign brewing in Liberal ranks, Trudeau is facing a three-way race in the Sunday vote where he is facing two candidates with strong ties to the poor, immigrant neighbourhood.
Trudeau is also getting a cold shoulder from some Liberal Quebec MPs who bristle at his star status.
Trudeau says he relishes learning the down-and-dirty ground game of selling party memberships and rallying local party activists.
"People throw around words like `star candidate' and that's not how I see myself,'' Trudeau said in an interview Tuesday.
"There was a concern I was not going to prove myself, that I would be handed this on a silver platter. This way, I get to prove myself.''
Besides a star status that may be based on pedigree more than accomplishment, some Quebec Liberals may want to punish Trudeau for his support of Gerard Kennedy in the recent Liberal leadership race.
That support eventually helped Stephane Dion win over the objections of MPs like Denis Coderre and Pablo Rodriguez, who backed Michael Ignatieff's failed bid.
Trudeau brushed off suggestions of a rift in the party and insisted his relations are cordial with Quebec MPs like Rodriguez. But he admitted some of them are wary of his presence in their ranks.
"A lot of the hostility, when you look at the quotes, was concern that I would waltz in as some poster boy and hog all the attention,'' Trudeau said.
"I think I've allayed some of those fears.''
Brushed off
But Coderre has shown disdain for Trudeau in the past while Trudeau supporters say an incident at Sunday's Earth Day rally illustrates where the 35-year-old activist and onetime West Coast school teacher stands with MPs like Rodriguez.
Trudeau tried to lend a hand holding the banner at the head of the parade along with local environmentalists and politicians from all levels. Rodriguez sent him away, saying he could join the front of the parade and raise the banner if he's ever elected, Trudeau friends say.
About 3,300 Liberal members are eligible to vote in the riding, including about 2,400 recently signed by the three candidates.
The new members are about evenly split between Trudeau, popular city councillor Mary Deros and Italian newspaper editor Basilio Giordano, making for a tight race among them.
Monir Hossain, a Trudeau supporter and member of the riding executive, said he's heard of a pact between Trudeau's rivals to unite against him and ensure his defeat at the vote Sunday.
Deros denies it, saying she's heard the rumours too.
"I even heard there was a pact that was notorized,'' she said in an interview. "There is no pact. We're going to try to take it in the first round. In the event that doesn't happen, then we'll start working it.''
Deros says she hasn't decided who she'll support if she finishes third in the first round of voting.
Trudeau hit the streets Tuesday, visiting a strip of Greek businesses in the neighbourhood.
While chatting with TV repairman Christos Kyritsis, he struck the familiar gunslinger pose of his father, his hands hooked on his hips with his coat flung back.
"We need you to put Papineau back on the map,'' Kyritsis said. "This area is forgotten.''
Each of the candidates has their own strength and Trudeau certainly wins in name recognition.
"The name opens doors sometimes, sometimes it makes it harder to walk through standing straight,'' Trudeau said.
The legacy of Trudeau's father -- something Trudeau peppers throughout a 20-minute conversation -- is also a powerful force among the strong immigrant communities in the area.
"It's not by accident that Justin chose the most multi-ethnic riding in Canada to run in,'' said supporter Chris Karigiannis.
About a third of Papineau party members are Italian-Canadians who would form a powerful block if they throw their support behind Giordano.
Deros has represented the area on city council for nine years, winning in a landslide in the last municipal election in 2005. She wishes Trudeau had found another place to take his first run at federal politics.
"Even I was following him around during the leadership convention trying to get a glimpse of him and trying to get a picture of him,'' Deros said.
"Little did I know he'd be coming into my riding and opposing my candidacy.''
