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Rediff.com  » News » 10 facts you should know about Canada's new PM

10 facts you should know about Canada's new PM

October 20, 2015 12:50 IST
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Canadian voters have elected Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau as their new prime minister, significantly ending the nine-year government of Stephen Harper.

The election was said to be the closest in the country's history. Just in the last three weeks, the centre-left Liberals led by Justin -- the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau -- surged into the lead.

Trudeau has said that he will repair Canada's cool relations with United States President Barack Obama's administration, withdraw Canada from the combat mission against Islamic State militants in favour of humanitarian aid, and tackle climate change.

Here are some quick facts about the newly-elected Canadian prime minister:

1. Justin is the first prime minister with a tattoo. His left shoulder is covered with a large tattoo of planet earth (inked when he was 23) surrounded by a Haida raven, hero of the Canadian mythology (added when he was 40).

2. Both an actor and a politician have to be able to convince an audience that they are genuine and honest. In 2007, Trudeau starred in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation mini-series entitled ‘The Great War’. The series portrayed Canada’s role in World War I.

3. Trudeau, 43, is the second-youngest elected prime minister in Canadian history. He broke the record for the biggest gain in seats in an election, which was previously held by the Conservatives, who added 111 seats in the 1984 election.

4. His father Pierre Trudeau, who died in 2000, was in power for 15 years -- with a brief interruption -- and remains one of the few Canadian leaders to be known abroad.

5. Justin will be the first offspring of a former prime minister to be prime minister.

6. He was taught to box as a boy by his father. Trudeau beat Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau in a charity boxing match in spring 2015.

7. He was a French and social studies high school teacher for five years in British Columbia before entering politics.

8. In 2005, Trudeau married television host Sophie Gregoire. The couple have three children -- Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien.

9. A Canadian admitting to having smoked marijuana in his or her youth isn't exactly the most shocking of revelations. But a Member of Parliament saying they dabbled with a doobie while being a sitting representative is another story. Trudeau made that admission to HuffPost Canada in 2013. It was at his house in Montreal, outside on a patio by the pool.

10) His first election in 1968 inspired a frenzied fandom among young voters that became known as "Trudeaumania". And his administration included many historic accomplishments like making both French and English the official languages of the federal government.

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