It's All in the Family: Thomas Mulcair Related to Justin Trudeau and Gilles Duceppe

After revealing Mulcair and Trudeau's family connection in 2013, Ancestry discovers another federal family link – this time to the leader of the Bloc Québécois

• As revealed in 2013, Mulcair and Trudeau's connection goes back 400 years; the two are 9^th cousins
• New research reveals Mulcair and Duceppe are 10^th cousins through their 9^th great-grandfather, considered as one of the "founding fathers" of Quebec
• Mulcair has Canadian politics in his blood – his 3^rd great grandfather was the first Premier of Quebec, while his 2^nd great grandfather was the 9^th premier of the same province

TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2015 /CNW/ - With less than two weeks until election day and recent polls showing a tight three-way race between the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, new research reveals that some parties' leaders may be more historically aligned than previously thought. 

According to Ancestry, the world's largest online family history resource, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair is related to both Liberal leader Justin Trudeau – the two are 9^th cousins – and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe, who is Mulcair's 10^th cousin.

As revealed by Ancestry in 2013, Mulcair and Trudeau's family ties go back nearly 400 years to their 8^th great-grandparents, Mathieu Amiot and Marie Miville. Miville's father, Pierre Miville, is one of the founding fathers of Quebec, and when his family arrived in the 1640s, they were considered to be one of the largest to settle in "New France". When Amiot married Miville in 1649, her dowry brought him property in the town of Quebec, making him a very successful landowner.

Mulcair and Duceppe's family connection goes back even further to their 9^th great-grandfather, Marin Boucher. Marin was part of the "Percheron Immigration" from Perche, France in the 17^th century. Most of these immigrants were builders, carpenters or - like Marin - stone masons, so they could literally build a new nation here in Canada. In fact, it is believed that the majority of French Canadian origins have Percheron blood.

For Mulcair, politics certainly run in the family. His 3^rd great-grandfather, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau headed a Conservative government as the first Premier of Quebec in 1867.

"While it's fun to imagine that family ties spanning back 400 years could impact something as large as a federal election, the reality is that researching your family history can be incredibly eye-opening, revealing connections to other Canadians you could have never dreamed of," said Lesley Anderson, family historian with Ancestry. "Records can not only reveal interesting family ties, but they also help paint a picture of what Canada was like centuries ago, and how your ancestors fit into the story of our nation."

Ancestry.ca offers all new users a 14-day free trial. Ancestry also recently launched AncestryDNA, which allows users to explore their family roots and ethnicity back to a time long before historical records began to be kept. For more information or to sign up for the free trial, visit www.ancestry.ca

ABOUT ANCESTRY.CA
Ancestry.ca was launched in January 2006 and is part of Ancestry, the world's largest online family history resource with more than 2 million subscribers across all its websites. More than 16 billion records have been added to the Ancestry.com sites and users have created more than 70 million family trees containing more than 6 billion profiles. In addition to its flagship site www.ancestry.com, the company operates several global Ancestry international websites along with a suite of online family history brands, including Archives.com, Fold3.com, Newspapers.com, and offers the AncestryDNA product, sold by its subsidiary, Ancestry International DNA, LLC, all of which are designed to empower people to discover, preserve and share their family history.

SOURCE Ancestry.ca

or interviews: Caitie Wallman, [email protected], 416-342-1823; Karolina Olechnowicz, [email protected], 416-342-1822