OTTAWA—The Trudeau name is back in the national spotlight after Bob Rae’s surprise withdrawal from the Liberal leadership opened the way for a possible run by Justin, the 40-year-old son of the former prime minister.

Trudeau, who recently said it’s too soon for him to vie for his party’s top job, acknowledged he’s now rethinking his earlier decision. But he said it will first require “reflections and conversations” with his family.

“The decision to return — to change my mind, it will be a decision that I will take in peace with my family,” Trudeau told reporters shortly after Rae’s announcement.

He said he “honestly” doesn’t know what may tip his thinking.

Family and the pressures a leadership bid would put on wife Sophie Grégoire and two young children seemed top of mind for Trudeau. Trudeau said he knows better than most “how hard it is to have a family in politics.”

Rae, 63, who has been interim head of the Liberals since Michael Ignatieff resigned after the 2011 election, stunned his colleagues Wednesday by revealing he would step aside.

“It hasn’t been an easy decision,” said Rae, who promised last year when accepting the interim leader’s post that he would forgo a bid for permanent leader.

“As time went on, more and more people started saying, ‘Well, are you interested in the permanent job?’” the former Ontario premier explained.

“I therefore have naturally been thinking about this question and been wrestling with it,” he said. “I’ve reached the conclusion that the way in which I can serve the party best is by not running for the permanent leadership.”

Since last summer, Rae provided his party with dynamic leadership in Parliament and most observers expected him to try to keep the job on a long-term basis. But some Liberals said privately Rae was hit with an unexpectedly negative backlash from within his own party after CBC-TV ran a story last week saying he was going to join the leadership race.

“What was clearly a trial balloon — leaking this stuff last week — clearly, the trial balloon did its job,” said one former Liberal MP. “The response was not, shall we say, what Bob was hoping for.”

The idea that Rae would go back on his pledge not to seek the permanent leadership angered some Liberals, insiders said.

Rae acknowledged the importance of this issue Wednesday, telling reporters: “For me, the foremost question was the reality that in accepting the interim leadership, I did it with the public expectations that I would not run for the permanent leadership.

“I know some of you may find it hard to believe, but sometimes you actually do want to do things that pass every possible smell test,” Rae said.

With an election not expected for several years and little expectation of Liberals bouncing back to form government, Rae’s status as a near-senior often comes up in chats about his party’s long-term leadership needs. But, he said, “If you’re fit and you’re ready to go, it doesn’t matter.”

He added he will stay on as interim party head until a new leader is chosen. In a meeting that had been scheduled prior to Rae’s announcement, the executive of the Liberal party decided Wednesday that the leadership convention would happen next April but didn’t set a specific date.

Rae declined to say if he would run again for Parliament in the riding of Toronto Centre in the next election, likely in 2015.

Liberals lavished praise on Rae for his role in recent months.

“Bob did a superior job and I just can’t imagine anyone doing it better,” said Liberal MP John McKay (Scarborough-Guildwood). “I think ultimately it’s a good decision for Bob and for the party, but it’s a bit challenging for us.”

Of Rae, MP Scott Brison (Kings-Hants) said, “There is nobody in the House of Commons who comes close to his talent, his depth on issues, his oratorical skills and his just basic decency and humanity. He’s a credit to public service.”

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Rae’s decision thrust a reluctant Trudeau into the centre of a whirlwind of speculation about his future and that of the federal Liberals, who were left as the third-place party after last year’s election showing.

Although an MP (from the Montreal riding of Papineau) for only four years, Trudeau’s lineage makes him by far the biggest name among possible contenders for his party’s leadership. He has star power and a flair for the dramatic sorely lacking among Liberal stalwarts in recent years. In March, Trudeau attracted national attention by stepping into the ring for a charity boxing match against Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau — a match the Liberal underdog won.

With files from Tonda MacCharles

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