Stephen Harper is not interested in root causes or academic debates. When Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau suggested in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings that acts of terrorism are best seen in the context of their social causes, Harper swiftly rejected the idea which points beyond anti-terrorism legislation and partisan spats to the deeper roots of Conservative strategy.

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says there's nothing wrong with using taxpayers' dollars to finance a bulk-mail campaign against Justin Trudeau...

As we await formal notice of Trudeau II's coronation, take a quick survey our nation's top papers. You'll find (at best) mostly cautious statements of conditional interest in a mildly competent politician whose greatest talent is exceeding low expectations. To be sure, the press does have a pro-Trudeau bias, but it's a bias of interest more than affinity.

Justin Trudeau is about to head into the national Liberal leadership vote heavily ahead of the competition, with little changing since he first announced his running back in the fall. Below are several of the most often used reasons, and perhaps some perspective on addressing those reasons and hopefully alleviating some of the hesitation in supporting another Trudeau to right the ship and lead the new Liberals in the 2015 election.

My congratulations to Justin Trudeau. My condolences to the Liberal Party of Canada. With Marc Garneau's recent withdrawal from the race for the party leadership, the "battle" is all but won. Marc Garneau offered a glimmer of hope for the optimists amongst us who wished to see a Liberal who might give the Conservatives a run for their money in 2015.

OTTAWA - Registration to vote in the federal Liberal leadership race has been extended for another week, a move likely to help Justin Trudeau consolid...

Marc Garneau is credible, likable, celebrated, looks like a statesman and when it comes to being experienced it really doesn't get much better than be...

Look who's back in the boxing ring. Federal Liberal leadership contender Justin Trudeau got a few punches in on Friday at Winnipeg's Pan Am Boxing...

Justin Trudeau is a leadership hopeful who can't figure out what he wants to stand for. Gun registry? Yes and No. Support Quebec separatists? Yes and No. Albertans good people? Yes and No. Doesn't the Liberal Party deserve better? Shouldn't the race be more than baton-twirling and swimsuit competitions?

As most of us were busy with family and friends over the Christmas break, one Federal Liberal leadership hopeful was occupied with strategically advancing his lead over the rest. Perhaps most surprising was the fact that it was the perceived front runner, Justin Trudeau.

Anti-Muslim bigots have gone too far in criticizing Justin Trudeau for his anticipated speech at a major Islamic conference that is going to be held towards the end of the month in Toronto. I find it disheartening to have hate-mongers trying to muzzle a convention like this one where people gather from all over the continent to nourish their souls.

After spending his years in Parliament defending the long-gun registry, and voting to keep the registry, Justin Trudeau decided he would call the long-gun registry a failure. With the Liberals in desperate need of resuscitation, appealing to rural voters in this manner does not exactly lend credence to the theory that the man is all hair and no brain. A dynamic, young politician who likes his guns as much as he likes his lattés? Perhaps the Conservatives should be worried.

Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau called the long-gun registry "a failure" during an Ontario campaign stop in the Conservative riding of Gle...

MONTREAL - Justin Trudeau has come under criticism for his comments about Alberta in the place where he made them in an interview two years ago — Qu...

OTTAWA - Conservatives have launched their first concerted attack on Justin Trudeau — and a new poll may explain why.The Canadian Press Harris-Decim...

SOREL, Que. - Justin Trudeau isn't ready to declare victory in the Liberal leadership race despite having a considerable head start on the competition...

I liked what Justin Trudeau had to say at my campus this week. He found a way to make a pitch for his Liberal-leadership candidacy, in between very direct and open answers to the audience's questions. Youth need to be engaged in politics in a way like never before. And the issues we care about are what animate his campaign for Liberal leader.

Our Canadian promise has never been too complicated. Work hard, we tell our kids, and you will have a better future than we did. Today, for too many, that promise rings hollow. Our task now is to give voice to young people's aspirations, to summon a new generation of leaders to give life to the Canadian promise, and to make the Liberal Party of Canada the vehicle for fresh new ideas and bold new dreams. That is the party that I want to lead.

Justin Trudeau, a candidate for leadership of the federal Liberal Party, was in Winnipeg Saturday to speak to party faithful. Trudeau add...

There is the possibility that Justin Trudeau will galvanize young voters, but I have my doubts, and it has nothing to do with his political acumen or even his ability to one day to be prime minister. It has to do with the very young people he is aiming to woo. They will destroy Trudeau and there likely isn't a thing he can do about it. Today's youth are not programmed to believe in politicians, much less honour them -- political movements, yes, but not the men and women who sit in government, who travel across the land shaking hands and kissing babies. To say politicians don't resonate with young people is an epic understatement; the practice of being a politician seems completely nuts to them. It makes no sense at all.

Justin is exactly what our country needs right now. For too long we've been starved for inspiration, for passion, for real engagement in the business of our beautiful nation. We've been on a slow and steady decline towards complete apathy. We have so tuned out as a nation -- and we really need to hit the "reset" button.

Justin Trudeau launched his campaign this week and did it as well as any one I've seen in a long time. Much of the commentary -- including commentary from some Liberals -- has taken on a decidedly personal character. This is uncalled for, cheap, and I think tinged with more than a bit of envy. It's as if they think that somehow Trudeau is in control of the attention he has received.

Today, Justin Trudeau launches his campaign to become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. As he does, there is concern that the hyperventilation surrounding Trudeau's candidacy and his status as a bona fide celebrity and political rock star is sucking all life out of this "wide open" race. The hypocrisy of pouncing on Justin Trudeau's "thin" professional record is nauseating. Arguably, Trudeau has a more substantive and varied background and education in the real world than Joe Clark, Stockwell Day, and Stephen Harper combined before they became leaders.

The Liberal Party may not be formally electing their next leader till April of 2013, but providing you got wind of Justin's announcement-to-announce last Wednesday, you've already heard the only story that matters. Feel free to take the next seven months off. The Rafiki-lifting-baby-Simba-over-Pride-Rock narrative is so strong at this point, in fact, that even the Trudeau-bashers seem bored and resigned. They can whine, but it's a whine of irritation, not impact.

Somehow, the media have already decided that the race for the Liberal Party of Canada's leadership is over before it has even started, with Justin Trudeau the clear frontrunner. The one issue most often cited by the media as being Trudeau's decisive advantage is his army of Twitter followers. How Twitter followers necessarily translate into votes on convention day has yet to be explained. Let there be no mistake: Important elements within the media are attempting to create reality rather than report it. Whether this race is up for grabs or not should be dependent upon the views of Liberals, not the media.