Justin Trudeau kicked off his Liberal leadership campaign with a tribute to Canada’s “diversity” as first among “the values that define and unite us” as a nation.

Despite predictable praise for the speech from Liberals looking for a shortcut back to power, it’s ironic that, even assuming there is a genuine Liberal leadership race and not just a Trudeau coronation, it will once again be fought primarily among white males.

This isn’t to say there won’t be any credible minority or female candidates.

After all, the image-makers behind all modern political parties like to have both as window dressing for the TV cameras.

But it is to say that when it comes to realpolitik — that is, running with a realistic chance of winning — the Liberal race and, in fairness, the leadership races of all our major national parties, continue to be the preserve of white males.

Which makes their constant preaching to the rest of us about the joys of diversity ring hollow.

To be sure, there are some exceptions, but they prove the rule.

Back when the New Democrats were perpetual also-rans, instead of the official opposition, they elected two female leaders in a row, Audrey McLaughlin from 1989 to 1995 and Alexa McDonough from 1995 to 2003. So much for that idea.

We also had Progressive Conservative prime minister Kim Campbell, for less than five months in 1993, chosen by her party and then promptly defeated in her first election, where the ruling PCs were reduced to two seats.

Belinda Stronach finished a distant second to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the Conservative leadership race of 2004, with Harper scoring almost 70% of the votes on the first ballot.

Stronach later crossed the floor to briefly save Paul Martin’s minority Liberal government, thus disqualifying herself as a serious future leadership candidate for either party.

In today ’s Liberal leadership race, Trudeau’s most serious challenge, if it happens, is expected to come from Liberal MP Marc Garneau.

Meanwhile, Thomas Mulcair earlier this year defeated Brian Topp in the NDP leadership race on the final ballot, proving again that in Canadian politics, it’s basically a (white) man’s world.

While the U.S., despite its legacy of slavery, elected Barack Obama as its first black president four years ago, diversity-loving Canada, as described by Trudeau, remains light years away from electing a racial minority or aboriginal PM for the simple reason our three major national parties are light years away from electing such individuals as party leaders.

Nor is there a female cabinet minister in the Conservative government today with anything approaching the stature of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the U.S.

It’s true, as Trudeau said at his campaign kick-off, that Canada has achieved a remarkable degree of social peace relative to other countries, among people who have come here from all over the world to build better lives for themselves and their children.

But Trudeau’s claim, “this new idea that diversity is strength, not a challenge to be overcome or a difficulty to be tolerated ... is the heart and soul of the Canadian success story” is simply not reflected in our major national parties, who are mainly interested in attracting the support of female and ethnic voters, not giving them the keys to the kingdom.