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It’s another sign that, for all its claims to “openness” and “inclusion,” Mr. Trudeau’s party only wants a certain type of Canadian, and isn’t interested in hearing from the others.

It’s further evidence that there are two sides to Mr. Trudeau – there’s what he says, and what he does. And the two aren’t always the same.

It may also be one more example of the Liberal leader speaking before he thinks through the implications of what he’s about to say.

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Indeed, Knutson is resigned to being barred from seeking a Liberal nomination.

“As I’m sitting here right now, I fully expect to be red-lighted,” Knutson said in a brief phone interview Thursday.

Knutson had hoped to seek the party’s nomination in Ottawa-Orleans, where Trudeau’s hand-picked star recruit, retired general Andrew Leslie, is vying to become the Liberal standard bearer in 2015.

His dream was shattered Wednesday when Trudeau announced that no one will be allowed to seek a Liberal nomination unless they commit to support a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion.

“I have made it clear that future candidates need to be completely understanding that they will be expected to vote pro-choice on any bills,” Trudeau said.

The only exception he’ll make is for incumbent Liberal MPs, several of whom share Knutson’s belief that abortion is morally wrong.

The exception does not apply to former MPs, however.

And that means Knutson, Volpe and McTeague could find themselves shut out of the party they represented for 11, 23 and 18 years respectively.