On Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 45th birthday, we look at things that earned him all the praise. It’s only been a year since he took office and he has already built his image as a populist leader. With his popular statements and praise-worthy decisions, Trudeau has made many non-Canadians consider moving to Canada.
From having biryani at a local mosque and doing bhangra at an Indian event to beating his political opponent in a boxing match, Trudeau seems to know it all.
Here are some of our favourite moments when Trudeau impressed everyone with his handling of things
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1) When he selected a gender-balanced cabinet:
In 2015 when Trudeau took oath as PM, he came up with a cabinet that was diverse in terms of both gender and ethnicity. Trudeau’s cabinet had a 50 per cent representation of women and the ministers he chose are experts in the field of portfolios they head. When asked why he selected a cabinet that had equal representation of men and women, Trudeau said: “Because it’s 2015:” (Hear, hear!)
2) When he brought Syrian refugees to Canada
At a time when most countries were turning their backs on refugees and asylum-seekers, Prime Minister Trudeau took a clear stance and said that Canada is always open for refugees. He did not deliver mere lip-service, but walked the talk by bringing Syrian refugees to Canada.
Trudeau was present at the airport to personally welcome them, showing the world that actions speak louder than words. (World leaders, take notes.)
3) When he told he was feminist and urged all men to be one
Most world leaders tend to shy away from using the word feminist while speaking of gender equality. But the Canadian PM did not hesitate to regognise himself as feminist.
In World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, Trudeau pushed for gender equality in business and politics. He shared how he intended to raise both his sons and his daughter to treat everyone equally. Trudeau said no one should be afraid of the word ‘feminist’.
To widespread applause, he said: “And by the way—we shouldn’t be afraid of the word ‘feminist.’ Men and women should use it to describe themselves anytime they want.” (We couldn’t agree more!)
4) When he called out Donald Trump for his derogatory remarks:
While responding to a question about Donald Trump during an interview, he condemned Trump’s racist statements:
Trudeau said he stood firmly against the politics of division, intolerance, and added that diversity should be seen as a source of strength and not division. “If we allow politicians to succeed by scaring people we don’t end up any safer, it makes us weaker instead.”
Trudeau went on to say that all Muslims shouldn’t be considered responsible for terrorism as they are predominantly the victims of terrorist attacks around the world. “Painting ISIS with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant but irresponsible”. With this statement, Trudeau won the hearts of those who have had enough of Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric.
(Guess this is why Canada’s immigration website crashed after Donald Trump’s election as US president.)
5) When he gave a reporter quantum computing lesson
Before joining politics, Trudeau taught at the elementary and high school level in Vancouver, studied engineering and started a Master’s degree in environmental geography.
Trudeau seemed to recall that background of his, when a reporter jokingly threw a question about quantum computing during a serious discussion about ISIS.
Trudeau insisted he would answer the question and went on to explain, “A regular computer bit is either a one or a zero, either on or off. A quantum state can be much more complex than that, because as we know, things can be both particle and wave at the same time and the uncertainty around quantum states allows us to encode more information into a much smaller computer
So that’s what’s exciting about quantum computing,” he said as the crowd erupted into applause. (Is there anything this guy can’t do?!)
Here’s wishing the Canadian PM a very happy birthday – may he continue to be his amazing self!
