Justin Trudeau Liberal Leadership Bid Will Be Announced Tuesday: Media Reports

Justin Trudeau will announce his bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada on Tuesday, several media outlets are reporting.

Trudeau, 40, will make the announcement in Montreal, La Presse reports, quoting multiple sources:

(Translated) The race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada is on: Justin Trudeau, the young Liberal MP for Papineau, will announce Tuesday in Montreal that he will be a candidate.

Several Liberal sources confirmed with La Presse yesterday that Justin Trudeau will hold a press conference in his constituency on Oct. 2 to confirm his intention to follow in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

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Radio-Canada, the French arm of CBC, also reports that Trudeau will announce his bid next week.

Trudeau was still unwilling to confirm his leadership bid on Wednesday morning, according to Global News.

Faced with a crowd of journalists on Parliament Hill, Trudeau kept his cards close to the chest. "I have nothing to say," Trudeau said before joining a caucus meeting.

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So far, only two candidates have declared their intention to run for the job after interim leader Bob Rae steps down before the party’s April convention.

Deborah Coyne and Manitoban Shane Geschiere said they plan to run, though the race hasn’t officially begun and neither has forked over the $75,000 entrance fee. Trudeau, who had earlier ruled out a leadership run, said he would announce his final decision before summer’s end.

Other potential leadership candidates include B.C. MP Joyce Murray, former astronaut and MP Marc Garneau, New Brunswick MP Dominic Leblanc, Montreal MP Denis Coderre, Ottawa MP David McGuinty, former MPs Gerard Kennedy, Martin Cauchon and Martha Hall Findlay, as well as past candidates David Bertschi and Taleeb Noormohamed and Toronto lawyer George Takach.

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At the end of August, Liberal Party insider Warren Kinsella suggested Trudeau would run for the job with a campaign team composed of people under the age of 40.

A poll from The Canadian Press Harris-Decima released in June suggests 33 per cent of Canadians would be likely or certain to vote Liberal with Trudeau at the helm.

A quick survey of Twitter reaction to the news Wednesday would seem to back up the notion Trudeau has wide support.

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"I'm aware that there's a certain popularity factor out there but that's not the centre of any decision I have to make," Trudeau said earlier this summer.

"The centre I have to make is a very personal one. Can I manage to be a good father while being a good leader and eventually a good prime minister first and foremost and also am I the right person for the job? Do I have the capacity to lead in the way that people seem to think I do?"

Trudeau said a renewal of the party will centre on reminding Canadians that the Liberals have the ability to take the middle ground and speak on behalf of everyone. He called NDP Leader Tom Mulcair the "flipside" of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He said both leaders have polarized the country and are pitting region against region.

More to come.