New Trudeau era begins in Ottawa

[projekktor id=’21755′]

(Updated) Justin Trudeau has officially been sworn in as prime minister, launching a new era in federal politics today as his majority Liberal government took office.

The ceremony at Rideau Hall took place in front of a crowd of dignitaries including former prime ministers Jean Chretien and John Turner; former governor generals as well as family and friends. Trudeau was sworn in shortly after the resignation of his conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper.

It was a warm welcome for Trudeau and his team. They arrived together on a bus rather than private cars and walked past a crowd of spectators who lined the driveway. This was the first time the general public was invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Trudeau’s cabinet, a total of 30 ministers have been sworn in, and for the first time in Canadian history half of them are women.

• Rookie Toronto MP Bill Morneau is Canada’s new finance minister;
• veteran MP and former Liberal leader Stephane Dion has been appointed foreign affairs minister;
• newcomer Jody Wilson-Raybould has become the justice minister and attorney general;
• Harjit Sajjan has been appointed the defence minister;
• Jane Philpott is the new minister of health;
• and Catherine McKenna has been named environment and climate change minister. She was born and raised in Hamilton and went to St Mary’s high school.

Shortly after the swearing-in, Trudeau issued this statement: “Canada is strong not in spite of its diversity, but because of it, and we are committed to bringing new leadership and a new tone to Ottawa. We also made a commitment to pursue our goals with a renewed sense of collaboration. Most importantly, we will be a government that governs for all Canadians and brings Canadians together.”

This afternoon, Trudeau & his cabinet will hold their first meeting and will speak to the media afterwards to answer any questions.

Additional video: Bob Cowan speaks to Marvin Ryder of the DeGroote School of Business about the challenges faced by the new federal finance minister, Bill Morneau.

[projekktor id=’21756′]