Canada’s new ministerial cabinet is the first in the country’s history to have gender parity
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s new prime minister, has picked 15 men and 15 women as part of a ministerial team that he says looks “like Canada”.
It is the first time in Canadian history that there has been an equal number.
The 43-year-old Liberal party leader took the oath of office Wednesday, and introduced a younger, more diverse cabinet, according to Al Jazeera. Most ministers are 35 to 50 years old.
“It’s an incredible pleasure for me to be here today, before you, to present to Canada a cabinet that looks like Canada,” Mr. Trudeau said to cheers from the crowd.
Why, a reporter asked, was “gender parity” so important to you? Trudeau, a proud feminist, responded with a shrug, and said “Because it’s 2015.”
Interestingly, instead of arriving in the traditional black cars, Trudeau and his family stepped off a bus, greeting the crowd and taking selfies with them.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his 30 new ministers started tackling thorny issues within hours of forming government, including two ambitious priorities by year-end: a shift of the tax burden from the middle class to the rich and the resettling of 25,000 Syrian refugees.
