[URBAN NOTE] "Mulcair's Outremont, Trudeau's Papineau: A tale of two Montreal ridings"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC News' Nancy Wood takes a look at the adjacent ridings of the NDP's Thomas Mulcair and the Liberals' Justin Trudeau. Each riding, it seems, turns out to be suited for each man contra first impressions.

The border between Justin Trudeau's riding and Tom Mulcair's sits on a desolate strip of railroad track in the north end of Montreal. It's a no-man's land lined by broken-down fences and overgrown weeds.

North of the tracks is the Trudeau riding of Papineau, one of the poorest, most densely populated ridings in the country.

To the south, Mulcair's riding of Outremont. It has pockets of poverty, but overall is wealthy, with stately homes and exclusive private schools.

At first glance, the ridings seem an awkward fit for the men who represent them.

In fact, Justin Trudeau had his eye on Mulcair's Outremont when he first considered entering politics. His roots there were deep. He had gone to school at prestigious Brébeuf College, was married at Sainte-Madeleine d'Outremont Church and was living in the borough with his wife Sophie Grégoire.