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Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau says he would welcome the entrance of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty into the race to lead the federal party.

The perceived front-runner said today in Halifax that he didn’t want to speculate on McGuinty’s plans, one day after the Ontario leader announced his resignation.

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With Monday’s resignation, McGuinty is suddenly free to run for the federal Liberal leadership, and if he does, he’ll have a ready-made campaign team all set to go.

For the past month, a draft campaign has been in the works to persuade McGuinty to jump into the federal fray.

Trudeau says McGuinty has served his province and country well and would add to what he insisted will be “a strong and robust leadership race.”

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Trudeau, who addressed students at a packed high school auditorium, says he hasn’t spoken to McGuinty but added that there will be strong candidates running even if he decides not to enter the race.