Montreal MP Justin Trudeau looks on as the Liberal caucus speaks with reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons after a marathon voting session on Conservative budget legislation on June 14, 2012.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Montreal MP Justin Trudeau, the son of a popular former prime minister, will announce next week that he wants to lead the Liberal Party of Canada.
Mr. Trudeau will announce his candidacy on Oct. 2 in his Quebec riding of Papineau, a Liberal source told the Globe and Mail. That followed reports in La Presse and Radio-Canada.
Wednesday is caucus day on Parliament Hill, where MPs spend the morning behind closed doors with their respective colleagues.
"I am pleased to hear all of the buzz and all the interest in the Liberal Party's fortune, but I have nothing to announce," Mr. Trudeau said with a smile, after a meeting of the Liberal caucus.
As he left, he told to reporters: "I will let you know when I have something."
The 40-year-old former school teacher has represented the Montreal riding since 2008. He is his party's critic for youth, sports and post-secondary education.
While the Liberals held majority and minority governments for most of the 16 years Pierre Trudeau led the party, it fell to third place in the 2011 election and was reduced to 35 seats in Parliament.
The race to replace interim Liberal leader Bob Rae officially begins Nov. 14 and ends April 14, 2013.
Toronto lawyer Deborah Coyne, the mother of Pierre Trudeau's only daughter, was the first to announce she will seek the party's nomination. There has been speculation around possible bids from other Liberal MPs, including Marc Garneau, Dominic Leblanc and David McGuinty.
The party recently announced that leadership candidates would have to pay a $75,000 entry fee and their campaign spending would be capped at $950,000. The spending limit is almost double that set by the NDP in their leadership race.
Delegates to the Liberal convention earlier this year changed some of the rules of the race to broaden the participation beyond Liberal Party members. They added a supporter category that would allow someone to vote for Liberal leader without having to formally join the party or pay a fee.
With files from Daniel Leblanc
Bill Curry
Chris Hannay