Michael Ignatieff is already over 12,000 km into his Liberal Express summer tour and he's not even half done. For the months of July and August he will make his way across all ten provinces and three territories - picking up students, and supporters along the way - in a grassroots attempt to drum up support.

Between Ottawa, his Yorkville residence in Toronto and this current cross-country stint, Ignatieff spends a lot of time on the road. Nine days out of ten recently, but despite the long days and near constant travel he comes across as energized. He welcomes the conversation and seems to genuinely enjoy meeting people.

It's a far cry from the way he's often portrayed in the media - too academic, out of touch, or arrogant - if anything he's far too humble. When I ask about a unique travel experience, he forgoes the time he was a POW in the former Yugoslavia for a story about a donkey ride. He's much more comfortable talking about issues than himself, but unfortunately more often than not politicians get elected based on personality over policy. But this is not an interview about policy; this is an interview about Michael Ignatieff.

What is your day job?

I'm a politician.

You on tour right now; can you tell me a little about that?

We're doing ten provinces and three territories, coast to coast to coast; we've got young liberals on board wearing red t-shirts, candidates, MPs, journalists. We're rolling into barbeques, we're rolling into town halls, and we're going to your back yard, to the dock of the bay--the whole thing. We want to take politics out of Ottawa and bring it right down as close to Canadians this summer as we can get. And Canadians are coming out in big numbers because they like the idea of politics, public discussion, public debate, and a good fiery speech as close to them as possible.

How do you do that, how do you get young people enthusiastic about politics?

Well you have to take politics to young people. There's been a great reaction, the bus is full of kids in t-shirts and when we get off the bus there's kids in t-shirts and there are a lot of young teenagers getting involved. I think they're excited to take part and do something for Canada. The word here is Canada. Kids are very proud to be Canadian and they're very patriotic. They may be sometimes cynical about politics, but they're not cynical about Canada so if you talk to them about Canada you fire them up.

What neighbourhood do you live in?

We have a place in Yorkville, a condo.

What do you like most about that part of the city?

The stores, restaurants, everything is close by. But I'm in Toronto at the moment one day in ten. I wish it were more. I'm a Toronto MP so I try to get into my riding as much as possible, it's important. I represent Etobicoke-Lakeshore and it's a great community so I do as many riding events as I can, but because of my national stuff I'm on the road quite a bit.

What do you miss about the city when you're out of town?

I miss the island. I miss a place called Artisano in my riding. It's a very, very good place to have lunch and it makes the best coffee in Toronto - and the best bread. I miss Artisano.

What do you see elsewhere that you would like to see adopted here in Toronto?

I'd like to bring Vancouver's Canada line to Toronto. The line from the airport into Vancouver is the best rapid transit in North America - we need it. We need a link between the airport and downtown Toronto and we need to invest in rapid transit.

Do you have any travel tips?

Travel with your wife. That's my tip. Seriously, when I travel with her I'm fine, it doesn't matter, I'm happy. When she's not there I get grumpy because I get bossed around by all these kids (referring to his staff).

Aisle or window?

I'm an aisle guy because my wife insists on the window - I don't have any choice. She gets the window.

You've worn many hats over the course of your career, can you tell me about a particularly unique travel experience you've had?

I made a film in Northern Iraq in the '90s and all of our equipment was loaded onto donkeys. I was driving those donkeys up a hill and I was on a donkey and I was thinking to myself "How the hell did I get here?" Me and donkeys - not so good. That was in the '90s. That was the most extraordinary travel experience I've had.

I understand you were also a war correspondent for a period of time.

I covered the wars in the former Yugoslavia, between about 1992 and 1995, and then I was in Afghanistan in 1997 after the Taliban took over. I was in Kabul when the Taliban controlled Kabul, so I've done a bit of that and I was in Africa after the Rwanda genocides.

I've been shot at a couple of times you know, so it makes dealing with the Ottawa press gallery a little easier. I mean, I've had a few narrow scrapes. I was once arrested by some paramilitaries in the former Yugoslavia and was actually rescued by a Canadian peacekeeper who just happened to be near that check point, which made me very, very appreciative of Canadian peacekeepers because otherwise I might not be here to talk to you.