OTTAWA — Being a senior citizen won't stop Paul Martin from outrunning the opposition in the next election, the Liberal leadership candidate said on the eve of his 65th birthday.

Age is a state of mind, he said, though he admitted his wife says he's not always down with the kids.

"I think that age is not simply a question of chronology, it's a question of vision, it's a question of your ideas," he told reporters.

"I really consider myself to be a young man. On the other hand, my wife Sheila has pointed out to me that I also think that the Guess Who is probably the hottest new sound in town."

The band's landmark album, American Woman, was released in 1970.

Martin held a news conference to declare he was handing over the operations of his shipping company, Canada Steamship Lines, to his sons. He made the business decision earlier this year after questions surfaced about a potential conflict of interest should he win the Liberal leadership race now underway.

He said he would celebrate his birthday by going out for dinner with his wife.

If he meets expectations and succeeds Prime Minister Jean Chretien as prime minister, Martin will be only the sixth Canadian 65 or older to be sworn into the post.

The others were: Lester Pearson, 65 in 1963, Louis Saint-Laurent, 66 in 1948, Charles Tupper, 74 in 1896, Mackenzie Bowell, 74 in 1894 and John Abbot, 70 in 1891.

Chretien is expected to retire in February at age 70, but was only 59 in 1993 when he first became prime minister.

Joe Clark was the youngest to hold the office. He was one day short of his 40th birthday when he was sworn in as prime minister in June 1979.

Martin said he won't be drawing a Canada pension after he turns 65, and refused to disclose the size of pension he would get from CSL.

"My pension has nothing to do with the company's earnings or the company's growth," said the multi-millionaire-turned-politician.