Justin Trudeau greets supporters at a campaign stop in Ponoka Sunday Jan. 27, 2013. (QMI Agency/VINCE BURKE)

OTTAWA - The Justin Trudeau fan club has sold the Montreal MP as the saviour of a drowning party whose rock star-like status would float the Liberal brand to the top of the political heap.

Turns out Trudeau's popularity - inflamed by media-inspired polls showing he could give Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his party a serious challenge - has so far failed to generate new party memberships the hype would suggest.

New numbers show the Liberal leadership race has yet to incite Canadians to rush to become card-carrying members at $10 a pop or for free as a supporter.