Why would anyone want to be mayor of Toronto?

1:43 pm

THE 2010 MUNICIPAL election has become more exciting with David Miller’s announcement that he will not seek re-election.

Before, it looked like the next election would consist of candidates with high name recognition competing to replace him.

Each challenging candidate would expound on why Mr. Miller needed to be defeated and what was wrong with the direction in which Toronto was heading. Now the dynamic will be very different.

Already, with 13 months to go before voting day, there is heightened interest and competitors are coming out of the woodwork.

There is greater willingness and increased chance in the minds of those who would wish to be mayor when the incumbent factor is removed. It usually results in a larger slate, which is a great way to build excitement and participation.

"It’s a long, vigorous campaign, and one cannot peak or burn out too early."

Any individual who actually registers to run in the election shows commitment and courage. Campaigning to win requires energy, a supportive team and money. Some wait for the right time, when they stand the best chance of success, and others go for it despite the odds — because circumstances compel them.

There are questions that each candidate should ask himself or herself: Am I able to provide leadership? Do I understand what the priorities are? Am I prepared to commit the time, energy and money to win this election? Can I attract a team who can raise the funds for a credible campaign?

I believe that the early bird gets the worm. It’s important to organize your support and strategy well in advance. A good offence is the best defence.

By expressing your intentions early, it effectively reduces the number of competitors. Fundraising can be more difficult if like-minded candidates are tapping the same circles. Positive name recognition is an asset. Previous scandals, baggage and poor judgment can seriously jeopardize the outcome.

Campaign workers usually volunteer their time. In a mayoralty bid, certain key roles that demand full-time hours and expertise are often paid positions.

These include a campaign manager and chairs of policy and fundraising, canvassing and signs.

Office managers, a scheduler, a CFO and a driver are vital. It’s extremely important to have an advisory group whose guidance can be provided to steer the campaign and keep it on message.

The first week of January is the time to register. At this point the campaign officially begins, and one can legally begin to fundraise.

The fundraising goal should be $1.3 to $1.5 million, which allows you to buy media, to mount a professional attempt to reach voters. The easiest way to accumulate these funds would be if in a well-connected group each member committed to raising a portion of this. The maximum donation of a private individual is $2,500. It’s important to hold well-publicized events to build momentum. The Internet has added a new dimension to campaigning.

Barack Obama enjoyed a high number of small donations from grassroots supporters through it.

A mayoralty candidate needs to be strategic about time. It’s a long, vigorous campaign, and one cannot peak or burn out too early.

A typical day begins with interviews, visits to organized events and many types of speaking venues. Earned media is a free bonus and can be used to broadcast the message. The schedule needs to be flexible because it will change.

Personal time needs to be protected for family, exercise and rest. It’s an exhilarating experience to compete for the prize of leading Toronto. Ideas and advice will be offered, but in the end, it’s the candidate’s own sense of judgment or lack of it that will prevail. The 2010 election should focus on who can win the trust and confidence of voters and can work urgently on positive solutions to move Toronto forward.

Post City Magazines’ political columnist, Jane Pitfield, was a Toronto city councillor for eight years. She is now involved in several volunteer projects.

In search of the wizards of Oz

1:30 pm

THE OSSINGTON STRIP is a culinary melting pot that has exploded in popularity, drawing some of the city’s finest young chefs to the area, including Tom Thai and Paul Boehmer. But how to separate the bistros from the booze cans? Herewith, a guide to nine of the best culinary destinations to help plan your trip.

Böhmer goes back to basics

93 Ossington Ave., phone number TBA

Esteemed local chef Paul Boehmer follows his nomadic impulse and helms yet another restaurant, this time in a 5,000- square-foot former garage.

Boehmer is known for transforming whatever he touches to edible gold — from falloff- the-bone ribs at the late Cluck, Grunt & Low to posh nosh at Rosewater Supper Club, Scaramouche and others.

And foodies have been holding their garlicky breath ever since the venture was announced last spring.

While Böhmer is slated to open within the next month, at press time the restaurant was still in renovation mode.

Boehmer has already been blessed with luck as the last liquor licence recipient before a oneyear moratorium on the barheavy half-kilometre stretch between Queen and Dundas, and we don’t expect the seasoned chef’s good fortune to end there.

Classic Canadiana fare, such as Ontario pickerel and caribou; promises of reasonable prices ($10 to $20 for appetizers, $20 to $30 for mains); local art and photography; and a rustic 100- seat space filled with furniture designed by the funky, reclaimed wood–happy Brothers Dressler twins are sure to keep the place packed and profitable.

During the day, bread, preserves and vinegars will be sold, cheering up disgruntled locals who bemoan the parity of daytime hangouts in the buzzy ’hood.

Oh, and don’t scoff at the classy new umlaut in the eponymous restaurant’s name: it’s Boehmer’s original surname (his father traded the dots for an “e” upon arriving in Canada) and is simply another sign of this epicurean icon getting down to his roots.

Corinna’s Delux edition

92 Ossington Ave., 416-537-0134

Skinny waiters with five o’clock shadows serve up chef-owner Corinna Mozo’s delectable Franco-Cuban fare in a cool, modern space decked out with recycled fluorescent tube lighting fixtures and alphabet-themed art.

The massive Cubano sandwich is stuffed with molasses-cured pork, ham, watercress, melted Gruyère and lemony aïoli and comes sided with Mozo’s famous frites, for extra heart-palpitating pleasure.

Gooey made-to-order chocolate chip cookies arrive with an organic glass of milk and inspire nostalgia for bygone childhoods and simple delights. Leslie Feist and her Broken Social Scene friends have been known to pull up a chair.

Pizzeria Libretto true liberation

221 Ossington Ave., 416-532-8000

The vibe at this no-reservations Neopolitan pizza joint is almost as hot as it’s 900-degree woodburning oven.

Aim for an unconventional arrival time (think 6 p.m. on a Tuesday) or slip the hostess your cell number and grab a tequila cocktail at nearby Reposado to avoid spending hours in line. Entrance hassles are soon forgotten with a couple glasses of $4 wine and Libretto’s trademark blistered pie.

The margherita D.O.P. pleases traditionalists with its restrained minimalism (tomato, basil and Ontario fiore di latte mozzarella are the sole toppings) while the white duck confit and bosc pear number tantalizes more adventurous palates. Reclaimed wood tables fit in with the Bullfrog-powered restaurant’s green approach.

Tom Thai’s cuisine is very Foxley

207 Ossington Ave., 416-534-8520

Foodies were initially disappointed when they learned that revered chef Tom Thai wouldn’t be concocting his famous avant-garde sushi at Foxley.

Once they tucked into the resto’s exquisite fare, however, patrons (including down-to-earth screen sirens Sandra Oh and Rachel McAdams) were instantly converted to his small-in-size yet big-in-flavour modern pan-Asian tapas. Standout dishes include sticky side ribs with caramelized shallot glaze and sea bream ceviche with yuzu and shiso leaf.

Exposed brick walls, mod light fixtures and attentive staff would make this the perfect date spot — if only they accepted reservations.

State of the Union

72 Ossington Ave., 416-850-0093

Union was worth the wait. After a beleaguered year of delays and red tape that foodies followed on chef Teo Paul’s blog for Toronto Life, the locavore restaurant was greeted with accolades for its Parisian-inspired food (many ingredients sourced from his family’s Collingwood farm), not to mention the casually glam digs, punctuated by a horseshoe bar and 35-foot vine mural by Barbara Klunder.

Patrons speak reverently about the truffle fonduto, a poached egg, ground truffle and toast concoction; the chèvrespiked sweet pea lasagna; and the bread pudding.

Burger Shoppe shines

210 Ossington Ave., 416-850-1919

True to its name, this handsome wood-panelled restaurant offers 12 different kinds of burgers as well as yummy sides like hand-cut fries and chorizo-topped poutine.

BQM boasts that their beef patties contain higher levels of omega-3s than conventional beef products — maybe that’s why they’re so juicy and delicious. Get local with the Ossington, a portabello mushroom, mozzarella and balsamic reduction–dressed affair.

The Dakota for bluegrass brunch

249 Ossington Ave., 416-850-4579

Most nights, mustachioed indie kids and their vintage-clad girlfriends sling whisky sours in boot-shaped glasses, chow down requisite pub grub, and get down to the live bluesy rock bands.

On weekends, however, hipsters rub flannel elbows with families that invade the barn-boarded space for an all-you-can-eat bluegrass brunch featuring freshly squeezed juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, pancakes and acoustic tunes.

Watusi swings

110 Ossington Ave., 416-533-1800

Watusi departs from the Ossington decor standards, eschewing understated exposed brick and reclaimed wood for retro eye-popping neon and lava lamp swank. The food proves just as playful.

Tuck into won ton nachos, a fun take on Tex-Mex that’s dressed up with sweet chili beef, avocado salsa and roasted red peppers, or the crispy chickpea fries.

Save room for the lime-spiked avocado and chocolate mousse for dessert.

Golden Turtle is pho-real

125 Ossington Ave., 416-531-1601

What this decidedly plain Vietnamese restaurant lacks in decor it makes up for in flavour and affordability, making it ripe for celebrity chef sightings (Guy Rubino, Claudio Aprile and Susur Lee are devotees). And for good reason: the unpretentiously named pho #1 is arguably the best in the city.

Rare beef cooks in a complex broth that’s topped with fresh basil and bean sprouts. Vermicelli noodles (a.k.a. bun) arrive with all sorts of tasty topping combos, from deep-fried spring rolls and grilled pork to beef and pineapple. Lingering is not encouraged.

Get your motor running

12:50 pm

1st PLACE – START YOUR ENGINES

On Erica: Armani, $1,095 On Teresa: Mackage, $580

Back in the day, they donned leather as on-air hosts. Now, Teresa’s a PR manager for TVO and Erica’s the dynamo behind the Yummy Mummy Club, but both of them still know how to work the biker babe look. Erica loves her pick because it’s versatile. “I’d never take it off,” she says. Teresa likes hers because it’s “fitted, flattering and unique.”

Where to get it: Andrew’s Bayview Village 2901 Bayview Ave. 416-225-0049

BIKER BABE

Belstaff Leatherblouson Approx. $1,600
Ride in style with this jacket by the company that practically invented high-performance chopper gear.
Where to get it: www.belstaff.com

VERY VESPA

Nygard quilted jacket, $96.60
Not the hard-core type? Not to worry. This jacket works at the office or on the weekend.
Where to get it:The Bay, Centerpoint Mall 6500 Yonge St., 416-226-4202

PATENT POWER

Adore, purple patent jacket $249
Scoot over to style in this shiny number that goes from day to night in a flash.
Where to get it: Tzatz 2512 1/2 Yonge St., 416-481-0311

CARAMEL CLASSIC

Doma leather jacket, $725
Head out on the highway in this three-season staple in a beautiful colour.
Where to get it:Holt Renfrew Bloor 50 Bloor St. W., 416-922-2333

Using your noodle

11:11 am

1ST PLACE
MACARONI MAGIC!

TERRA RESTAURANT, 8199 Yonge St., 905-731-6161
Terra’s gourmet take on this quintessential comfort food elicits multiple “Mmmms” from the affable owner of Grano. Martella praises the presence of apple-smoked cheddar, lobster and mini-elbow pasta, but overall it’s the “Canadian northern flavour” that seals the deal. The only downside? With its nifty cast-iron casserole dish, “it would be hard to take to school in a lunch pail,” he says. Price: $19 plus tax

2ND PLACE

Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill ,2901 Bayview Ave.
“Adults, kids — from two to 100 — could eat this,” raves Martella. Peas and chicken add to nuanced taste, but overall punch is perhaps a bit muted. Price: $14.25 plus tax

THIRD PLACE

Weezie’s, 354 King St. E.
Martella praises the “classic cafeteria” presentation, tasty slab bacon cubes and gentle asiago and Parmesan cheeses. The overall effort receives a B on its final report. Price: $14 plus tax

FOURTH PLACE

Carens Wine & Cheese Bar , 158 Cumberland St.
Hot peppers make Martella tear up: “It needs alcohol, if not a fire department,” he gasps. Loses points for slightly “commercial” taste. Price: $16 plus tax

FIFTH PLACE

Tundra, 145 Richmond St. W.
The most attractive dish, but the lobster here seems better suited to a tossed pasta, where it can be better “exulted,” says Martella. Price: $12 plus tax2

Liisa Winkler's blog: TOMS brings shoes to T.O. and to kids in need

9:47 am

About a year ago, I was staying at a hotel on the lower east side of Manhattan.

After finishing work slightly late, I was absolutely starving and wandering the streets looking for that perfect little restaurant in which to park myself for a feed and perhaps some people watching.

Nothing really pulled at my salivary glands and so I wandered into an old faithful… Whole Foods. I have had many healthy and delicious meals here and felt that I ought to give this new location, at Bowery and Chrystie, an investigation.

This is where I found them. The "ethical, earth friendly section" on the second floor. (Nowhere near the food section which is where I should have been headed with the growls and grumbles from my tummy becoming loud enough now to elicit concerned looks from my fellow shoppers- I guess sometimes shopping trumps hunger.)

TOMS shoes makes really cool shoes. Cool because they are simple in their rugged design and can thus be worn with almost anything. Cool because they are made by a man who wants to help people and actually donates one pair of shoes for every pair that he sells! Blake Mycoskie started TOMS to help kids in Argentina who had no shoes and could not go to school. By walking barefoot, feet are prone to cuts which then become infected and cause disease and pain. Since starting his company, he has given away over 150,000 pairs and plans to give another 300,000 by then end of this year. He now does his "shoe drop offs" all over the world.

The shoes I found were not my size. But I bought them anyways. The whole idea of "One to One" (which is the company’s motto) appealed to me so much and the shoes were a perfect alternative to the usual flip flops of summer that I had been flopping around in. The light canvas shoe can be worn from spring to fall. The insole is actually inspired by a flip flop (but with more support). I put them right on and flopped down to the food section to quell the monster in my belly.

But now they are here. They have made their way to Toronto and have arrived in a rainbow of colors, styles and, yes, sizes as well! I love the charcoal and the tan canvas. My daughter looooves her red sparkly pair. I plan to keep my family in TOMS for as long as is practical. I love that they now make adorable and stylish kid sizes as well!! I know it’s a bit early, but why not pick up a pair for everyone on your Christmas gift list this year? I plan to give at least a few pairs to the feet of a few lucky friends.

TOMS is sold in Toronto at:

Get Outside – 3456 Yonge Street
Sporting Life
Heel Boy – 682 Queen St.
Lileo – 55 Mill St.
Pre-Loved – 24 Ryerson Ave
Canopy Blue – 2582 Yonge St.
Cat Tilt – 1-198 Walnut Ave.

Go to the Toms shoes website for more information on the cause and a very inspirational video.

Liisa Winkler is one of Canada’s biggest supermodels and mother of two beautiful children. Her blog appears bi-monthly at Postcity.com.

Patrick McMurray's blog: Oyster shucking in full view

9:02 am

In 90 per cent of restaurants around the world, oyster shuckers are left at the back door to shuck and clean dishes in between orders.

As an oyster shucker in Toronto, I’m a bit biased to bar dining as that is how we work — up front in full view of the customer. I would rather be in no other place.

I often tell diners to either book a spot at the bar or just pop by and see what’s happening.

A spot at the bar means you’ll be right In the middle of the action, watching the evening’s events unfold in front of your eyes. At the bar, it’s more of theatre for the palate than dining on food.

Drinks are poured, menus are read and recommendations are made by the service staff. After choosing your supper for the evening, sit back with your companion and watch the deft hands and skilled crew do their job. It’ll no doubt feel like they are just cooking for you… a special event indeed.

You will also be privy to specials that are being tried out, taste tests, and special attention. Go regularly to the bar, and you become one of the crew.

The best pro is that you can almost always sit when you want at the bar. Torontonians live by the 7-7:30 p.m. reservation, making it the hardest time to acquire. The bar however is seldom reserved so pop in and eat when you want.

Shuckingly yours, Paddy

Patrick McMurray is the owner of Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill and The Ceili Cottage. He is also a World Champion Oyster Shucker. Catch his blog weekly at PostCity.com.

Biana Zorich and Marc Thuet's blog: Game time in the kitchen

3:53 pm

With the exception of this seemingly non-stop rain, the fall season is firmly upon us. However, with the shorter days and longer nights we do get to enjoy an abundance of distinctly autumn harvest goods, reminiscent of the smell of grandma’s freshly baked pumpkin pie. This time of year takes us to the rich flavours of fall squashes and root vegetables, as well as the earthiness of wild game, making for some very creative cooking, especially in our adventurous kitchen.

As it happens every year, Marc indulges in the romanticism of the hunting season. He has been tracking down and finally procured some rare birds from Scotland. As we receive them, they are, first and foremost, carefully hung in the fridge for faisander (a French term used to describe the process of aging game), which in turn gives that unique smokiness and texture to the flesh. Hailing from Alsace, the French capital of rugged hunting forests, Marc’s passion and skill shine through in the intricate preparation of these unusual dishes.

Along with the Scottish game, the chef has also located some very difficult to procure elk meat and other delicacies from the wild regions of Alberta. Preparing wild game is long considered a noble tradition in Europe and has appropriately found a strong place in the heart of Thuet Cuisine.

When explaining his love for all this wild, Marc quickly turns nostalgic.

“Wild game is the heart and soul of my cooking and I only serve it during these months, because it’s against my belief that it should be presented out of season. Preparing these delicacies takes me back to the dampness of the autumns in France, as I left my mother’s house in the early mornings with my best friends and our loyal barking companions. When people experience these dishes, I hope that beyond the enjoyment, I can also pass on the memories and traditions of those foggy and beautiful Alsace mornings.”

Seeing that the Scottish grouse and other wild meats are very scarce this year (and sometimes deliveries being a little late), please call our restaurant in a advance if you would like us to prepare a traditional game menu customized to suit your tastes.

For others who share Marc’s passion, we also proudly feature Marc’s Cloudberry preserve, another autumn staple, at our Petit Thuet locations. This delicate berry is an ideal accompaniment as a side or an addition to sauces to suit most wild game mains. Despite its modern demand as a delicacy, the amber-coloured edible fruit is largely grown in the wild in bogs and marshes across Canada and other northern countries. Their distinctively tart taste makes for an excellent preserve with seemingly unlimited uses.

Here’s hoping for some sunnier days but in the meantime, enjoy the splendour of colour that surrounds us and the fresh harvest fruits and vegetables of the season.

World-renowned executive chef, Marc Thuet, and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, will be blogging weekly for PostCity.com about their new show and restaurants.

Wendy Woods' blog: Haute hats at College Street boutique

12:17 am

Women tend to think that hats don’t look good on them. Sometimes I wonder if it’s because the only hats they’ve ever tried on are baseball caps and toques.

Hats are just so much more than that!

If you are one of these women, I highly recommend taking a trip to College and Bathurst to frolic in the world of Lilliput Hats.

Lilliput Hats is an environment where playing, and trying new things, is encouraged. The women who work at the boutique are ready to help those who want it. However, they’ll also let you browse on your own. Every time I go into the boutique there are women having so much fun trying on all the different styles Lilliput has to offer.

To be honest, I’m having a hard time choosing a few specific styles to highlight because they are all so gorgeous. That said, it is the perfect time of year to focus on getting a winter hat that is both practical and fashionable. Lilliput has so many winter hat styles to choose from you are guaranteed to find something that suits your face, shape, and size! The best part is any of the in-house styles can be custom-made to your colour choice and sized to fit perfectly to your head — at no extra charge.

If after visiting Lilliput Hats you still can’t find a style that suits you well, I may actually believe you to be a “non-hat” woman.

Always on the lookout for Toronto’s best boutiques!

Wendy

As a personal style coach with THE REFINERY, Wendy Woods translates the world of fashion into a personal style that makes her clients shine, while introducing them to Toronto’s unique boutiques.

EDO and Nobu joining forces for charity

8:39 am

On Oct. 31, Toronto’s own Japanese fine dining shrine EDO is combining forces with Nobu from New York City to host a reception as part of the Grand Cru wine festival to raise money for the University Health Network.

The legendary restaurant, opened in 1994, and co-owned by Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert DeNiro has expanded to locations around the world such as Milan, Italy; London, England and Cape Town, South Africa.

"They are probably the best known Japanese restaurant outside of Japan in the world," says Barry Chaim, who owns EDO along with its casual sibling EDO-KO. "They put Japanese cuisine on the map in the western world."

The restaurant’s head sushi chef Tomita will be coming to town to take part in the day’s festivities. Chaim also teamed up with Tomita last year for Grand Cru, and has added an additional culinary event due to popular demand.

The cocktail-style party will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at EDO, 484 Eglinton Ave. W. Tickets are $36 per person and includes hors d’eouvres and a glass of wine. Reservations are required.

My 905

11:33 am

AT THE BASE of Glen Cameron Road in Thornhill, on the south side, is an industrial building. As a kid, I used to ride my bike there. One day, I noticed a man walking out carrying a guitar to his Cadillac.

I was learning guitar and was obsessed with the idea of becoming a professional guitar player — or better yet, a star.

“What’s in there?” I asked the man.

“A recording studio,” he answered.

“What do you record?”

“Music for a TV show,” he said. “Wow, a recording studio,” I thought. I made it a habit to ride by there, hoping to, I don’t know, get inside and, in my wildest fantasies, get a chance to become a star.

Some time later, I heard another band, and this time I knew the songs. It was Rush! I kept going back, hoping to see the band.When the band finished rehearsing, its members, Neil, Geddy and Alex, would come out and say hello, sign some autographs and give out personalized guitar picks.

I never did see the inside of that studio, but I found out the man in the Cadillac was Bobby Edwards, one of Canada’s greatest studio guitarists. He later became my mentor.And sometimes I play for Terry Brown, the producer of Rush’s first 12 albums! You never know, it doesn’t hurt to dream. Craig Skala has played on a number of film and television scores and has played with the Nomads and Karen Durrant. His newest album, The Tundra Project, is out now.

The good, the bad and the snowy

11:08 am

DESPITE THE FACT that she is Canada’s one and only Olympic gold medalist in alpine ski racing, Kerrin Lee-Gartner advocates for keeping it casual on the slopes. “I’m about heartfelt family time,” she says on a call from her home.

She’s taken time out of her afternoon to talk to us about skiing as an extracurricular activity. It’s more accessible than you think.

“The one thing with skiing is that it’s a family sport. That’s why you see four-year-olds out there,” she says. Lee-Gartner herself started when she was four. She was following in her big sister’s footsteps.

Her career as a racer just happened. “It was a very natural progression for me,” she says. Lee-Gartner’s teenage daughters are now junior racers and also went competitive in a selfdirected way. “We offered so many different options to our kids: piano lessons, figure skating, golf lessons, ski lessons,” she says.

They said no to ski racing for years. Eventually though, the girls said yes.

“There are competitive genes in everyone, and our children definitely have them,” Lee-Gartner says and laughs. She doesn’t attribute the girls’ success to good genes, though. “Our kids were gifted genetically with athletic ability.… They came by that naturally, but I can tell you for sure that it’s very rarely the child with natural athletic ability that excels.… If you don’t work hard and love it and breathe it, it won’t happen. That’s probably true across the board.”

Ultimately, Lee-Gartner says a relaxed approach is wise. “One thing you have to think about is what you’re trying to get out of it,” she says. “If it’s family time and leisure … then that can be had on a bunny hill on a riverbank in Saskatchewan, which is where my dad skiied growing up in Saskatoon.… For me, it isn’t about getting a certain number of runs in every day to pay off the pass. To me, it’s not goal oriented other than really enjoying the quality time.”

And if, as with Lee-Gartner’s kids, yours eventually show interest in competitive racing, being in Ontario shouldn’t be a deterrent. She says the idea that the best training is in the mountains is false.

Ontario hills have many wonderful qualities, she says. “Sometimes the smaller ski resorts have the best racing programs. Lift lines are smaller, it’s a more competitive run, and the training quality is fantastic.”

Furthermore, she adds, “the snow in Ontario and eastern Canada is made for racing. Typically, it’s hard snow, which is what racing is on. Out west, if we have problems … normally it’s because there is too much snow. It’s powder, and the kids can’t race.”

Since her racing days, Lee- Gartner has become a sports broadcaster with the CBC, but because that network didn’t win the rights to the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, in January, she’ll be moving temporarily to a position at the BBC, just to call the 2010 alpine races. She is excited about the coming event and expects it to have a major impact on Canadian kids.

“I really do think having the Olympics here makes a difference,” she says. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people who really remember the impact that the Calgary Olympics had.… The kids who are most impacted are the ones who are at that age where, all of a sudden, they can look at a moment and a dream is formed.”

She says children anywhere from age seven to 16 may have a formative Olympic moment watching a Canadian athlete win gold in any event in 2010.

And if one of those winners dethrones her as this country’s only alpine gold medalist? “I would enjoy that very much,” she says. “It’s time.

“I guess I just believe in the Olympic ideals,” she says. “I believe in what sport brings to our communities, in how healthy it is, in the social qualities of it.

I just think it’s fantastic, and I think Olympics represent excellence across the board not just for sport. For me, when I’m watching, I really believe in those athletes’ dreams, and I would love them to come true.”

Trudeau, teens and the art of engagement

11:02 am

JUSTIN TRUDEAU NEVER planned to go into politics.

“When I was 15, my father [former prime minister Pierre Trudeau] had just retired … politics was pretty much the furthest thing from my mind as a possible career path,” he says.

Nonetheless, despite an early career in teaching, Trudeau is now the Liberal member of Parliament for the Papineau region and is particularly invested in engaging young people in politics.

It can’t be easy, can it? North American teenagers are widely criticized for their seemingly inherent apathetic natures, but Trudeau says he considers them much maligned.

“Yes, there are moments of cynicism,” he says, adding that we all have those. “But fundamentally, don’t ever make the mistake of thinking young people can be apathetic and cynical because they don’t care about the world…. It’s because they care so much about the world that they are often frustrated and sometimes angry that they don’t have a voice, they don’t get listened to.”

So Trudeau does just that: he listens.

“I’ll go out to a high school or a university and have a conversation with young people,” he says, setting himself apart from those who pontificate for an hour before disappearing into the ether.

Trudeau talks for only about 10 minutes before opening the floor.

“We end up having a very honest, straight conversation,” he says.

“I don’t talk down to them.… You speak to them as equals, about things that are of concern to them and to all of us.”

The result? Not apathy.

“Young people are worried about the big picture,” says Trudeau. “They are worried about the environment, about world poverty and world hunger.

They’re worried about conflict and war and human rights and injustice. They’re not going to get all worked up about a bill that will shift taxes one way or another by half a percentage point or such.…

So, to have a conversation with them on that level is the only way to absolutely engage them.” Trudeau’s advice to parents of seemingly disconnected teens is to not worry about direct involvement with politics, per se, but to focus on involvement and connection in general.

If you look closely at organizations like Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Free the Children and even local environmental initiatives, he says you’ll find that teens are actually extremely involved already.

“They just often couldn’t care less about politics. That’s not their fault. That’s the fault of politics itself.”

Trudeau feels that his own parents ultimately did the best possible thing to inspire him (and that thing wasn’t about holding office).

“My father always said no matter what we chose to do, as long as we lived up to our potential and made the world a slightly better place, that was fine,” he says. “For me, being a teacher was a very concrete and powerful way of shaping the world and making a difference in the lives of people around me.”

Trudeau has two young children of his own and hopes to similarly inspire them as well as the kids he mentors through work. He wants to give them “confidence in themselves, a sense that they matter in the world, that they are, in fact, deeply relevant.”

And if your kids are interested in politics directly? Trudeau says a partisan route isn’t primarily important. He also says you don’t need to worry about stuff like debate skills (“it’s not a fundamental building block”). Just get them involved, and your kids will learn important skills that will aid them later in life.

Make a difference in your community, he says.

The rest will follow.

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