Trudeau says he may not wish political leadership on his young daughter

FREDERICTON – The prime minister says he may not encourage his young daughter to carry on the family tradition of political leadership.

Justin Trudeau was at a town hall in Fredericton when he was asked by a little girl what his eight-year-old daughter Ella-Grace wants to be when she grows up.

He said her interests vary weekly, going from being a teacher like her dad to being a rock star or princess, but don’t seem to include the prime ministership at this point.

But Trudeau joked that his father — former prime minister Pierre Trudeau — often said the “family already gave” in terms of public service before the younger Trudeau entered politics.

Trudeau added he didn’t know if he’d “wish it on a third generation,” saying his tells his daughter and sons that she can be “absolutely anything she wants to be when she grows up.”

The question came as Trudeau continued his cross-country ‘listening tour’ that saw him meet with hundreds of people in Dartmouth, N.S., on Monday before heading to New Brunswick and then onto Quebec.