Another Trudeau takes to Canada's political stage

When did Canadian politics last seem sexy? Answer: when Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister. The flamboyant premier, who governed his country from 1968 to 1984 with only one interruption of a few months, was both an international statesman and one of the world's most eligible bachelors, dating a string of celebrities before he sensationally married Margaret Sinclair, a 22-year-old flower child 30 years his junior.

The entry of their son Justin Trudeau into Canadian politics on the Liberal Party ticket might bring back some of the old glamour. The 37-year-old is standing for a Quebec constituency in Tuesday's general election, but even though he inherited his father's legendary Mercedes sports car when Pierre died in 2000, he does not appear to have the paternal style. His first election campaign video – an attempt at embracing bilingual Canada – ended up being spoofed for his blend of English and French in every sentence.

"If it weren't for his father's name, he wouldn't have a chance," said Jean-Claude Rivest, an independent MP who studied under Pierre Trudeau when he was a university lecturer and met him several times after he became Prime Minister. "Justin's not of the same calibre as his father. Pierre Trudeau was a tremendous politician." All the same, Justin is soldiering on, attending as many as 10 engagements a day and canvassing door to door. He admits that people always start by talking about his father, but he tries to bring them back to the present day. "I'm working on emphasising the first part of my name," he says.

The eldest of three sons born to his parents during their tumultuous six years together, Justin has previously been a schoolteacher, activist and public speaker, and acted in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation mini-series on the country's First World War heroes. He has entered politics, he says, to make a difference: "I was lucky enough to see the impact politics could have on lives."

He may face an uphill task in Papineau constituency, which has almost equal numbers of immigrants and Quebeckers. While the former feel indebted to Pierre Trudeau's policy of multiculturalism, French-speakers are as strongly against his legacy of federalism.

Justin Trudeau says he's optimistic, and praises the support of his wife, Sophie Gregoire, an entertainment reporter. The couple have an 11-month baby and are expecting another soon. Also ever-present in his campaign is his 60-year-old mother.

Margaret Trudeau was famously embarrassing to her husband – at one of the toughest moments in his political career she was partying in New York with Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. But now she bakes biscuits for her son's campaign staff, and appears with him at political events and photo opportunities with party leaders. She moved to Montreal, where Justin's younger brother Alexandre also lives, to be close to the family. "[Being a grandmother] is the happiest thing ever for her," he says. Two years ago, Margaret went public about suffering from bipolar disorder, and has since been outspoken about the stigma attached to mental illness.

Justin defends his mother's wildness as a political wife, compared with his wife's steadiness. "You have to understand, my mum was barely 22 when she married my father," he says. "Sophie's in her thirties." But Mr Rivest was less kind when comparing the son to the father. Asked whether Justin Trudeau could ever become prime minister, he replied: "I hope not."