Justin Trudeau bumps fists with Patrick Brazeau after cutting off a lock of his hair in the foyer of the House of Commons on April 2, 2012. The Tory Senator agreed to have his hair cut after losing a charity boxing match to the Liberal MP.CHRIS WATTIE
Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau had his lengthy hair cut Monday, following through on a bet on his charity boxing match with Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Brazeau was defeated Saturday night when the referee called the match in the third round in favour of the Liberal MP, who was considered the underdog.
Another facet of the bet stipulates that Mr. Brazeau will wear a Liberal hockey jersey, with "Trudeau" printed on the back, all week. It was presented to him in the foyer of the House of Commons, where he got his locks shorn, on Monday at noon.
"I did the rookie boxer mistake in coming out like a raging bull," Mr. Brazeau said. "I thought I had him for a while there. I thought I was good, I was going to knock him out."
Mr. Brazeau had eight to nine inches cut off and is now sporting a layered, shoulder-length look. Mr. Trudeau was going to let his opponent get away with a short trim but the senator went for the full cut.
"A bet is a bet and I'm a man of my word. I said I would do it and I lost," Mr. Brazeau said, adding his father has been nagging him to get his hair cut. He also said he wanted to honour his mother, who died of lung cancer in 2004, and will therefore donate the hair.
The sold-out match was part of Fight for the Cure, which raised $230,000 for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. It was personal for Mr. Trudeau too. His father, former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau, died from complications of prostate cancer.
Mr. Brazeau said he received a phone call from Prime Minister Stephen Harper a few hours before the bout to wish him luck. The senator said he hasn't heard from him since his loss. "I don't blame him," Mr. Brazeau said.
Reaction from his Conservative colleagues has been "pretty positive," he said. "Having said that, there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders to see Justin knocked out from a lot of Canadians."
Mr. Brazeau wants a rematch but Mr. Trudeau suggested he's not interested in another bout.
"I got to check off the little box on the bucket list that said 'participate in a boxing match,'" Mr. Trudeau said. "I was glad to do it, glad to raise as much money as we did, but I will not be in any boxing matches any more."
Mr. Trudeau quickly moved on to the haircut when he was asked by a journalist about his unexpected victory renewing suggestions he should put his name in for the Liberal leadership.
Both men were sporting bruises from their duel. Mr. Brazeau's was under his right eye and despite Mr. Trudeau's victory, the Liberal MP had a bruise near his right eyelid.
"[Mr. Brazeau]came out really, really strong in that first round, knocked me back and I will absolutely admit it, there were a couple of moments when I thought 'man, this was a really bad idea.'"
His Liberal colleagues, meanwhile, have been hooting over the win.
Nova Scotia MP Rodger Cuzner, the unofficial poet of the House of Commons, saw fit to immortalize his caucus colleague in verse before Question Period later Monday.
"Brazeau came out hard and brought Tories to their feet, but in less than a minute he looked pretty well beat," Mr. Cuzner said with Mr. Trudeau looking on from behind. "But Tories aren't finished, they'll want a rematch, I'm bettin'. They'll find someone tougher – maybe Marjory LeBreton."