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NDP leader Thomas Mulcair and Trudeau spent much of the night sparring over Bill C-51, the Tories’ anti-terror legislation. The Liberals supported the Conservatives’ bill as they were losing support for their decision to oppose military intervention in Syria; Trudeau’s Goldilocks approach a cynical bid to regain credibility on the security file.

So it was no surprise that Mulcair — his own party’s momentum fatally waning in Quebec — would aim for the nerve.

With all due respect, Trudeau-the-younger can’t hitch a ride to 24 Sussex on his father’s surname and then expect the assembled company to politely ignore the ancient baggage.

“The NDP took a very strong position against C-51. We looked at it, we know it was wrong the same way that the NDP was the only party to stand up in 1970 when Pierre Trudeau put hundreds of Canadians in jail without trial, without any accusation. The only party to stand up against that was Tommy Douglas’s NDP.”

Trudeau — who spent much of the night spinning sugar plum dreams of a Liberal Golden Age complete with perfect peacekeeping records, unlimited immigration and a fantasy Diplomacy league that commanded infinite soft power — was having none of it.

“Let me say very clearly, I am incredibly proud to be Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s son. And I am incredibly lucky to have been raised with those values.

When we talk about the legacy that my father leaves behind, first and foremost is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which has defined Canada as a country that stands up for individual rights, even against governments that want to take those away,” Trudeau responded.

This was, unquestionably, the line of the night even as it was maudlin nonsense.