45 years after his father, Trudeau visits Regina school

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to familiar surroundings on Thursday.

The former teacher was back in a classroom at Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School to speak to students and answer questions.

This wasn’t the first time a Trudeau wandered the halls of Miller.

45 years ago, Justin’s father Pierre Trudeau also visited the school and took a photo.

Before entering the classroom, Trudeau met with Student Representative Council President Taylor Nicolson before walking down the same halls as his father.

“It was amazing, it was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me,” Nicolson said of the exchange. “I was very nervous and my hands were getting sweaty but as soon as I walked outside and he came out of the car, it was like all of the nerves disappeared.”

Trudeau talked to around 40 students about the importance of getting the youth involved in politics.

Students were then able to ask the prime minister questions and one of the topics brought up by students was the current uneasiness in Canada-U.S. trade relations.

“We can both win if we’re thoughtful and responsible about how we move forward,” Trudeau answered.

Student ask @JustinTrudeau why are feds spending above means? PM says spend now, it’ll pay off later pic.twitter.com/2JbTetUC1g

— Kevin Martel (@KevinMartel) April 27, 2017

Another question that came up was how he could stand out from the work his father did as prime minister.

“You all have parents who impact your identity, your lives to greater of lesser degrees,” Trudeau said. “You’re going to need to figure out what your path is in spite of but also with the support of your parents.”

Trudeau said he had to deal with people constantly trying to define him through their own expectations while growing up.

“Did they like my dad and, therefore, were going to like me or did they not like my dad and, therefore, were they not going to like me. I had to push back against that, I had to learn who I was and how I was and figure out my own identity and, more difficulty, get other people to see me for my identity.”

After the hour-long question period ended, Trudeau went and sat down with the group of students for a photo and a few selfies before leaving the school to head back to Ottawa.

— With files from Kevin Martel