Justin Trudeau was sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister Wednesday and his Liberal government promises to be very different from that of the defeated Stephen Harper and his Conservatives.
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Most of Trudeau’s Cabinet members are between the ages of 35 and 50.
The new gender division comes on top of existing Cabinet-making criteria for regional, linguistic and ethnic representation, including the practice of selecting at least one minister from each of the country’s 10 provinces.
In the outgoing government, Tim Uppal was a turbaned Sikh but he a minister, enjoyed the rank of the minister of state.
Autumn sunshine and adoring crowds were on hand as Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, 43, headed to his swearing-in ceremony as Canada’s new prime minister on Wednesday.
The rookies will be backstopped by seven veterans with previous federal or provincial cabinet experience, including: Ralph Goodale in Public Safety; Stephane Dion in Foreign Affairs; John McCallum in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Carolyn Bennett in Indigenous and Northern Affairs; Judy Foote in Public Services and Procurement; and Scott Brison in Treasury Board.
People are applauding the young, blue-eyed, floppy-haired Canuck leader today, after he announced his new members of cabinet, which includes an equal number of men and women.
The cabinet is scheduled to hold their first meeting in the afternoon and then face the media – a departure from the Harper era.
When reporters asked why gender equality was so important to him, he answered, “Because it’s 2015”. “Canadian politicians often talk about parity while running campaigns but it’s a big deal to actually do it”.
Thousands of on-lookers were left waiting an hour over schedule to see Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Cabinet emerge from Rideau Hall.
“These are very strong, able, capable women”, Frances Lankin, who served in three cabinet posts for Bob Rae’s Ontario government, told Metro News. Trudeau plans to use the deficits to help fund investments like infrastructure, which he argues will stimulate the economy and create jobs.
Mr Harper was angered by USA president Barack Obama’s reluctance to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas and it damaged relations.
Catherine McKenna, an Ottawa lawyer focused on worldwide trade, becomes environment and climate change minister.
Trudeau has a busy agenda ahead with four global conferences to attend, including the G-20 summit in Turkey and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
Trudeau has promised that his government’s first piece of legislation would be a tax cut for middle-income earners, to be paid for by making Canadians in higher brackets pay more.
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When the campaign cycle began earlier this year, a few considered Trudeau too much of a political neophyte – he worked as a teacher and advocate before winning a parliament seat in 2008 – to captain Canada, regardless of his last name.
