They came in their thousands to Rideau Hall to catch a glimpse of the new prime minister.
Elderly French Canadians mingled cheerfully with Filipino immigrants and hijab-clad women.
Canadians from a variety of backgrounds, and some from across international borders, came to see Justin Trudeau's swearing-in ceremony. Some of them had arrived on the grounds before dawn just to get a good spot.
Finally, after waiting for hours in the crisp fall air, Trudeau and his cabinet strode up the path towards the governor-general’s grey stone mansion. Loud cheers rippled through the crowd.
Nearly five decades after his father Pierre strode up that very same path to Rideau Hall, Trudeaumania was back.
“We think it’s historic after [nearly 50] years to see the son of Pierre Elliot Trudeau come back,” said retiree Robert Boisvert just before the new prime minister arrived.
After Trudeau and his ministers entered the building to take their oaths of office, crowds outside watched their new government being sworn in on giant TV screens. Media were escorted to a concrete basement, reminiscent of a bunker, to watch proceedings and file their stories.
Once the new cabinet was sworn in, Trudeau returned outside to make his inaugural address as prime minister, the crowd hanging on his every word as he mentioned all his campaign buzzwords – student debt relief and climate change among them.
“The future of our country is deeply wrapped up in a positive future for our young people," Trudeau said, to loud applause.
He then moved on to climate change – which ended up becoming a hot-button issue during the election campaign – by promising that Canada would play a constructive role at the Paris climate summit starting later this month. However, in keeping with past speeches, Trudeau did not reveal any concrete target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
“Canadians expect their government to be responsible around climate change and addressing the impacts to the environment that we are facing around the world right now,” Trudeau said. "Canada is going to be a strong and positive actor on the world stage."
All the while, his cabinet — a 50-50 split of 15 men and 15 women — stood behind him on the steps of Rideau Hall's fountain, prompting one reporter to ask why it was important to have gender parity in his government.
"Because it's 2015," replied Trudeau in a now-famous retort.
Moments after he ended his speech, the new PM stepped towards the crowds for a multitude of handshakes and selfies, flanked by his security detail who struggled to hold back ecstatic – even desperate – fans.
“Justin! Justin! I came all the way from Boston!” one lady yelled frantically at the prime minister as she tried hurling herself at him, only to be held back by beefy-looking security guards.
Finally, after being given an enthusiastic welcome usually reserved for boy bands, Trudeau made his way to Parliament for his first-ever cabinet meeting.
Canada’s mosaic in full force
National Observer spoke with some of those people who turned out in force to greet their new PM. One was Samiha Barakat, clad in a hijab and scarf bearing the flag of her native Palestine. Barakat is hopeful that Trudeau would do more to help her people under Israeli occupation after 10 years of Stephen Harper’s government.
“I asked Mr. Trudeau to take care of my cause — the Palestinian cause — he said, ‘Don’t worry, I will,” said Barakat.
But Canada-Israel relations will likely remain strong despite Trudeau’s promise to Barakat to help her people’s cause, as the two countries have built strong and enduring links in areas such as intelligence-sharing, international affairs, security, and academia.
Trudeau himself has also declared that Israel has a right to defend itself and spoken out against the ‘Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment’ campaign supported by some elements of the Canadian public.
Nonetheless, Barakat remained hopeful about the new Liberal government, writing an open letter addressed to both Trudeau and his incoming ministers asking them to clean up the corrupt legacy of Stephen Harper’s government. That legacy has included ongoing senate expenses scandals and criminal charges being laid against Conservative members for breaking election rules and improper campaign spending.
“I wanted to be a part of the history”
Harpreet Virk travelled nearly 800 km from Windsor, Ontario, to witness Canadian history being made with Justin Trudeau’s swearing-in.
He was keen to see an end to what Trudeau termed “the politics of fear and division,” as well as stronger economic growth after years of Conservative deficits.
“Everybody’s equal, there is no politics of hate, fear [under Trudeau],” said Virk.
In Harper's last year as prime minister, the Conservative government passed the contentious Bill C-24 into law, which allows both dual nationals and Canadians otherwise eligible for citizenship in other countries to be stripped of their Canadian nationality without judicial oversight.
Although the federal government argued that this measure would only apply to Canadians who had committed acts of terrorism, critics argued the language in the legislation was too vague, and could be used against a wide range of Canadians.
Real change
Lorelei Redoblado pounded the streets of Toronto during the election campaign as a Liberal Party volunteer, and came to see the government she helped elect.
“Changing this government is what we’re so excited about. We worked so hard for this," said Redoblado, clutching a poster of Trudeau.
Both Redoblado and her husband Joseph felt a Liberal-led government would place a greater emphasis on family reunification for immigrants and easier professional accreditation, all important issues for the Filipino-Canadian community.
Joseph Redoblado felt the Trudeau leadership brought a change in style from the Harper administration.
“Justin brings, youth, exuberance – I don’t know – it’s just progress, I guess.”
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