section_path: Opposition (2008–2015)/Leader of the Liberal Party/2013 leadership election/Early leadership (2013–2015)
section_name: Early leadership (2013–2015)
paragraph_text: Early leadership (2013–2015)
  
  In the days following his victory in the leadership race, snapshot polls recorded a surge in support for the Liberal party.
  
  In 2013, Trudeau chose to give up his seat at the funeral of Nelson Mandela, in deference to Irwin Cotler as representative of the Liberal Party of Canada, because of Cotler's work for and with Nelson Mandela in fighting apartheid.
  
  During the leadership campaign, Trudeau pledged to park all his assets, exclusive of real estate holdings, into a blind trust which is atypical for opposition MPs, including leaders. According to documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, he fulfilled the pledge in July 2013 when the blind trust was set up by BMO Private Banking.
  
  Trudeau launched an internet video the week before the 2014 Liberal party convention titled "An economy that benefits us all" in which he narrates his economic platform. He said that Canada's debt to GDP ratios have come down in recent years and now it's time for Ottawa to "step up".