Justin Trudeau takes the oath of office as he is sworn in as prime minister of Canada at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

Justin Trudeau takes the oath of office as he is sworn in as prime minister of Canada at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.
Photo Credit: PC / Adrian Wyld

Justin Trudeau sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in front of his cabinet outside Rideau Hall after a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in front of his cabinet outside Rideau Hall after a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. © CBC

Justin Trudeau has been sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister and has introduced a cabinet that he says reflects what Canada looks like in 2015.

For the first time in Canadian history, Trudeau’s hand-picked cabinet features an equal number of male and female ministers.

Asked why it was important to have gender parity in this cabinet, Trudeau said simply: “Because it’s 2015.”

The new cabinet, which was sworn in at a ceremony at the Governor General’s residence at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, includes a mix of fresh faces and political veterans.

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands with Governor General David Johnston after being sworn in as Prime Minister at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands with Governor General David Johnston after being sworn in as Prime Minister at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. © PC/Justin Tang
Open letter to Canadians

In an open letter to Canadians published on the prime minister’s site immediately following the swearing in ceremony Trudeau promised to serve all Canadians.

Today, I had the pleasure of introducing our team of extraordinary Canadians who will serve as Ministers in your new government,” Trudeau wrote. “As a Canadian, you expect to see your values and priorities reflected in your government – and we have listened closely.”

Trudeau reaffirmed his government’s priorities set during the election campaign – grow the economy, help the struggling middle class, fight climate change, and repair the relationship with Canada’s indigenous communities.

It is also time for a renewed, Nation-to-Nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, one based on a recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership,” Trudeau wrote.

A cabinet of surprises

Prof Bruce Hicks, a Visiting Fellow at the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs at York University in Toronto, said Trudeau managed to surprise even seasoned observers with his determination to shake up things.

Listen

“The surprise is the sheer number of young people and people who don’t have experience within a parliamentary setting being put into senior roles,” Hicks said.

Hicks said one of the biggest surprises was Trudeau’s decision to appoint Bill Morneau to the crucial finance portfolio.

“He is an incredibly successful businessperson but he doesn’t really have any political experience outside of running for office and finance is, next to the prime minister, the most important portfolio,” Hicks said. “He’ll have to between now and when he crafts his first budget learn how to deal with the cut and thrust of the House of Commons, and practice how you go out and sell a budget to Canada and the international business community.”

 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives on Parliament Hill with his newly sworn in cabinet ministers, in Ottawa on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives on Parliament Hill with his newly sworn in cabinet ministers, in Ottawa on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. © PC/Justin Tang
Diverse cabinet

Trudeau’s new government features a number of firsts in Canadian politics. Jody Wilson-Raybould is the first Aboriginal woman to hold the powerful justice portfolio. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, a former refugee, is the first Afghan woman to be elected to parliament and serve as a minister. She will have to handle the delicate task of revamping Canada’s electoral system from the current first-past-the-post to a proportional representation system.

And Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, a retired Lt-Col. in Canadian Forces and a combat veteran with three tours in Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina under his belt, is the first Sikh to lead the Department of National Defence. He will now have to oversee Canada’s withdrawal from a combat role in Iraq and Syria, as Canada pulls its fighter jets from the U.S.-led bombing campaign against Islamic State militants. He will also have to stick-handle the politically sensitive issue of procuring Canada’s new generation of fighter jets, after Trudeau promised that he’ll pull Canada out of the ballooning F-35 Joint Strike Program.

Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, another Sikh cabinet member, revealed that in late 1980s he was arrested by Indian authorities in the state of Bihar and accused of being a terrorist. He was beaten and tortured. He was held without charges and without trial for almost two years.

Hicks said seeing Canada’s diversity reflected in the cabinet sends a very powerful signal.

“I think that’s an important message that he [Trudeau] is trying to send and we know from the political science research that it’s a message that works and resonates,” Hicks said.

What’s in a name?

Hicks said another powerful signal that Trudeau is sending with his new cabinet is the way he has changed what the ministries are called to set a new tone.

“For example, the minister of environment, which is created by parliament, he has renamed that the minister of environment and climate change,” Hicks said. “I think he’s doing that to send a signal of what the government’s priorities are – in this case the environment and climate change go hand in hand.”

Pomp and ceremony
 Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau holds son Hadrien while his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau holds daughter Ella-Grace and their oldest son Xavier walks alongside as they arrive at Rideau Hall with Trudeau's future cabinet to take part in a swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa on Tuesday, November 4, 2015.
Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau holds son Hadrien while his wife Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau holds daughter Ella-Grace and their oldest son Xavier walks alongside as they arrive at Rideau Hall with Trudeau’s future cabinet to take part in a swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa on Tuesday, November 4, 2015. © PC/Adrian Wyld

Cheering crowds watched the ceremony on large screens assembled on the lawns of Rideau Hall. Inside, the ceremony accentuated the contribution made by Canada’s First Nations, featuring a young Cree performer and two young Inuit throat singers, whose playful performance prompted smiles and applause from the public.

The gates of Rideau Hall opened at 9 a.m. to welcome members of the public, who were invited for the first time to witness the historic occasion.

Trudeau, his wife, Sophie Gregoire, the couple’s three young children – Xavier, 8, Ella-Grace, 6, and Hadrien, 1, – and more than two dozen Liberal MPs arrived at the sprawling residence surrounded by cheering crowds and the piercing sound of bagpipes.

Hundreds of people lined the long tree-lined walkway amid brilliant fall colours on an unseasonably warm morning, to get a glimpse of Trudeau and the chosen few his new cabinet.

Earlier in the morning, in a much more discrete fashion, outgoing prime minister Stephen Harper formally submitted his resignation in a brief meeting with the Governor General.

Categories: Politics
Tags: , ,

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.