Head Tale

On Monday, either Thomas Mulcair or Justin Trudeau could become the Prime Minister of Canada.

Forget attack ads.  Forget haircuts & beards. Forget party policy.  Forget polls. Forget strategic voting.

If you only look at them side-by-side, who is more qualified to be the leader of a G-7 nation, Thomas Mulcair or Justin Trudeau?

Mulcair: 60 years old
Trudeau: 44 years old

Mulcair: Second oldest of 10 children
Trudeau: Eldest of three children

Mulcair: Father was a middle class insurance agent who was laid off from his job later in life
Trudeau: Father was Prime Minister of Canada

Mulcair: One grandparent was a tailor known for making suits for Montreal lawyers and other well-to-do clients
Trudeau: Inherited a $1.2 million dollar trust fund from his wealthy grandparent

Mulcair: Worked tarring roofs in Montreal as a young man
Trudeau: Worked as a ski instructor in Whistler as a young man

Mulcair: Lawyer by training
Trudeau: Teacher by training

Mulcair: Has worked in public service since 1979
Trudeau: Has been involved in public advocacy for a number of causes since 2000

Mulcair: First elected to public office in 1994
Trudeau: First elected to public office in 2008

Mulcair: Became party leader in 2012 after the passing of Jack Layton
Trudeau: Became party leader in April 2013 after the third Liberal leadership contest since 2006

A choice quote about each from a recent Sun News article called “The Truth About Trudeau” (The Sun News chain is very right wing so it’s interesting to see their take on the Conservatives’ two main rivals.)

Mulcair:

If you’re that anti-Harper there’s a very credible and experienced alternative in NDP Leader Tom Mulcair. It’s been clear this campaign that Mulcair is more moderate and pragmatic than Trudeau on a number of issues. Plus Mulcair has the mature “serenity” – a phrase he used to describe himself to the Sun editorial board Tuesday – to represent Canada ably on the world stage. Trudeau lacks that.

Trudeau:

It’s almost as if there’s a pact among my colleagues in the media not to talk about it…how shockingly inexperienced Trudeau is for someone seeking to lead our country.

In terms of career experience, all the 43-year-old’s chalked up is a couple years as a teacher in British Columbia. After that, he entered an engineering program but soon dropped out, then started another MA program but dropped that too. He became an MP shortly after, in 2008.

In other words, he spent the years before entering politics dabbling in this and that, drifting about without any commitment to work or school.

Mulcair:  Best known in Parliament for being “Prosecutor-in-Chief” of Stephen Harper during the Duffy affair revelations…

Trudeau: I’m trying to be fairly fact-based with this post and this will look like a cheap shot but I’ll say Trudeau is *arguably* best known in Parliament (so far) for calling another member a “piece of shit” and other verbal gaffes…