(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Ottawa: Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday promised big changes for the country after nearly a decade of Conservative rule as he was sworn into office almost 50 years after his father took on the job.
The 43-year-old Trudeau a former French teacher and bartender led his Liberal party to a landslide victory in the October 19 election dealing a crushing blow to Stephen Harper's Conservatives. He is the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.
His father Pierre Trudeau who died in 2000 served as prime minister from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. He is considered the father of modern Canada.
Trudeau smiled and mouthed "Thank you" as applause erupted in the flag-waving crowd gathered outside Rideau Hall the governor general's mansion to watch on giant screens as he took the oath as Canada's 23rd prime minister.
"We have an awful lot of work to do in coming weeks months and years but I know that Canadians expected us to... deliver on the change on the ambitious plan for this country that the Liberal party ran on and that's exactly what we're going to deliver" Trudeau said.
Canada's youthful leader -- who faced campaign attack ads that he was too inexperienced to govern -- is faced with a diverse set of challenges from reviving the country's struggling economy to slashing carbon emissions and ratifying a US-led Pacific free trade pact.
The new Liberal government also has pledged to resettle 25000 Syrian refugees by year's end and to wind down Canada's combat mission against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Trudeau unveiled a new-look cabinet equally split with 15 men and 15 women featuring some political veterans and some fresh faces.
Former native chief Jody Wilson-Raybould was named Canada's first aboriginal justice minister and is expected to shepherd a key Liberal election promise of holding a public inquiry into the fate of more than 1000 missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Businessman Bill Morneau will manage the nation's finances while decorated soldier Harjit Singh Sajjan will command the military. Former astronaut Marc Garneau takes over as transport minister and Catherine McKenna was appointed environment and climate change minister.
The new prime minister himself will also take on two extra portfolios -- youth and intergovernmental affairs.
'Historic change'
Wednesday marked the first time that the Canadian public was officially invited to witness the swearing-in ceremony in person.
A large crowd gathered in a carnival-like atmosphere for the event under a bright blue sky and colorful fall foliage. Two massive screens were set up outside the mansion for public viewing.
"We all knew his father and after a decade of Conservatives in power this is a historic change in government" one spectator Robert Boisvert told AFP.
Many had travelled to Ottawa from Montreal and Toronto and camped out to get a glimpse of the new prime minister who glad-handed dozens of people as he walked in with his wife Sophie Gregoire and his inner circle.
"Obviously I think of my father and how pleased he must be that Canada so firmly came together around an ambitious vision for the country that we presented" Trudeau said after being sworn in.
"But my thoughts today -- sorry dad -- are not mostly on him. They're very much on my own kids and on the kids across this country that we're going to work very very hard to ensure they have a better future."
Trudeau and his wife have three young children.
Family ties
Trudeau was first elected to the House of Commons in 2008 after years trying out different roles. He worked as a whitewater guide snowboard instructor bartender bouncer and public speaker.
He and his family will not move into the prime minister's official residence at 24 Sussex where Trudeau grew up because it must undergo a massive renovation. Instead they will stay at a guest house on the governor general's estate.
Parliament is expected to be recalled in early December after Trudeau returns from four back-to-back international events including UN climate talks in Paris.
Trudeau pledged "strong" action on climate change ahead of the talks
AFP