TORONTO – Will news that Justin Trudeau is related to Thomas Mulcair increase the odds of a Liberal-NDP coalition?
According to Ancestry.ca, the likely leader of the federal Liberals and the leader of the NDP are cousins.
The two Quebec politicians have shared French-Canadian ancestors, according to the genealogy website, making them ninth cousins.
Get daily National news
“It’s always fun to find a family connection between two people who are closely tied through their work, but it becomes even more interesting when they are rivals, whether in business or politics,” said Lesley Anderson, a family historian and content specialist with Ancestry.ca, in a release.
Trudeau and Mulcair share a connection that goes back 400 years to their eighth great-grandparents Mathieu Amiot and Marie Miville, who wed in 1650.
Amiot worked as an interpreter for the Jesuits and, when he married Miville, became a successful landowner thanks to her dowry.
“It’s amazing to think that a marriage that took place almost 400 years ago could produce two of the three major political players of a country that didn’t formally exist when the marriage took place,” said Anderson. “I think they would have been proud of their legacy.”
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.