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After long weeks of waiting, Justin Trudeau took to 1 Sussex Drive, the Governor General’s home, to take the oath that 22 Prime Ministers before him have taken. Trudeau accepted the weight of the nation’s future upon his shoulders, continuing a legacy that began when his father first took this very same oath 36 years ago.

 

 

It very well may have been a day of celebration, but it was also a day of great interest as Trudeau and his newly formed cabinet went about proceedings in a manner like never before. For example, it is typical for a new cabinet to travel individually in separate cars, however Trudeau’s assembly of MP’s arrived together on a bus almost in a show of unity.

 

 

This was far from being the most fascinating aspect of the happenings to occur that day. A now historic announcement regarding the composition of Trudeau’s cabinet has changed the way many think of the government and the equality of the sexes within it. As seen over time, MPs have always been majority male as opposed to female, a heavily criticized attribute of the cabinet. However, this time PM Trudeau has decided to appoint 15 men and 15 women; he has decided upon gender parity. When asked why he made the decision he replied, “because it’s 2015”, echoing his late father’s knack for hard hitting one-liners.

 

 

Having a look at the various MP’s who have been chosen to serve on the cabinet; the recent news truly is a source of pride for all Canadians. One Facebook post earlier this week summarizes a number of amazing and unexpected appointments. Members of Parliament range from being blind, to battling breast cancer, to being openly gay. Further satisfaction is found with the representatives who are more than adequately capable of appropriately verbalizing their communities’ and in turn the population’s needs and wants. Examples include the Minister of Health, who is an actual physician and the Minister of Defence who is a former war veteran of the Afghan War, and former Vancouver police officer. It is also interesting to note the rise of attention to Canadians of all backgrounds by having two of the MP’s in the cabinet are aboriginals and two who are born outside of Canada.

 

 

The ceremony itself was conducted in a usual fashion with bagpipes and drums playing as Trudeau, his wife, and three children walked into the Governor General's’ home. Trudeau took his oath then continued to watch as the 30 cabinet ministers did just the same. Later joined by two 12-year old aboriginal girls who came to perform the ancient Inuit art of throat singing, the festivities showed no relenting.

 

 

If the amount of attention Trudeau is garnering has any magnitude, then this trend is indicative of the fact that Canadians are truly proud of both a strong Liberal government and Prime Minister. If this sense of Trudeau mania was truly pervasive throughout Canada through the last election, leading to the Liberal majority, then perhaps we finally have nation with shared political values and goals. Or on the contrary, maybe the Liberal government simply succeeded in convincing the population that it, and only it could make Canada capable of CHANGE.