Justin Trudeau made a lot of promises in the recent federal election campaign.
He promised to change the way Ottawa runs the federal government – including regional representation, male-female parity in cabinet along with several socioeconomic and environmental considerations.
Mr. Trudeau took the federal Liberals from a lowly third-place standing in the House of Commons and swept into first place on election night (Oct. 19); thereby knocking down the decade-long control of the federal Conservatives.
He, and the national media, shined a light on the Tories and showed the electorate the Stephen Harper government as being divisive, controlling and arrogant.
When he made his acceptance speech, Mr. Trudeau reiterated all of the promises he had made and he noted they would be made as quickly as possible.
As the second youngest prime minister in recent Canadian history, he told us there would be a fresh face on the federal government and there would be a new approach to how business in Ottawa and across the country would be run.
On Nov. 4, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet ministers were sworn into office and there was much jubilation, hope and a feeling that "life would get better for the Canadian people."
Well, that feeling will have to be tested during the new Prime Minister's mandate; however, he showed right off the bat that things were, indeed, going to be changed.
His cabinet was made up of an equal number of men and women – virtually killing a longstanding gripe that men dominated the powerful inner circle and especially galling as they controlled just about all of the power portfolios.
Prime Minister Trudeau changed that aspect of the cabinet, too. Many women were appointed as ministers of some of the most powerful and important portfolios, and gone are the days of the "old boys" club.
Mr. Trudeau also fulfilled his promise to make sure every region of the country and ethnic and socioeconomic stripes were well represented at the cabinet table.
British Columbia, for example, has three cabinet ministers – Harjit Sajjan is the new Minister of Defence, Jody Wilson-Raybould is the Justice Minister and Attorney General, and Carla Qualtrough is the Minister for Sport and Persons with Disabilities.
First Nations are pleased the Prime Minister's plan to put a moratorium on oil tankers traffic on B.C.'s north coast until more study is done.
Mr. Trudeau also announced the reinstatement of the long-form census after a 10-year absence. This will give the government an in-depth look at what is working well and what is needed for all Canadians.
He's off to a good start; we'll see how it goes.