Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been setting major goals for general awesomeness ever since he was elected as the 23rd Prime Minister, the second-youngest in the history of Canada.
A breath of fresh air after Stephen Harper’s Conservative regime which lasted 9 years, Trudeau just showed world leaders how it’s done by naming a young and ethnically diverse cabinet- a ministerial team that for the first time in the country’s history is equally balanced between men and women.
The reason behind his decision to have a gender balanced, ethnically enriched cabinet was to ensure better representation for the culturally diverse Canada. “It’s important to be here before you today to present to Canada a cabinet that looks like Canada,” Trudeau said, after he was officially sworn is as Prime Minister along with the rest of his cabinet.
Trudeau has also ensured a generational change in representation, as the ministers – 15 women and 15 men – are mostly aged under 50.
When asked why he chose to name a gender-balanced cabinet, he had the most epic response: “Because it’s 2015!”
The female ministers on Trudeau’s cabinet have been allotted key roles. Maryam Monsef, who fled Afghanistan as a refugee 20 years ago, has been put in charge of the democratic reform portfolio. Chrystia Freeland, a former journalist, will now oversee international trade.
Trudeau’s cabinet also includes 2 aboriginal members of parliament and 3 Sikh politicians.
As Trudeau and his family pulled in on a bus for the swearing in ceremony, hundreds of people flocked to witness history being made on large screens set up on the grounds of Rideau Hall.
