Meet Justin Trudeau, Canada’s new prime minister

Justin Trudeau was elected Canadian Prime Minister on Monday. His Liberal Party defeated the Conservative Party in a landslide. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper stepped down as Conservative Party leader after conceding defeat. Justin Trudeau will become Canada’s second-youngest prime minister. A 43-year-old former high school teacher who until recently sported long hair, Trudeau first captured national attention in 2000 with a moving eulogy at his father’s state funeral. He challenged the country to cement Pierre Trudeau’s vision of a united and multicultural Canada, moving many people to tears. But it would be eight years later before Trudeau ran for office, winning a seat in Parliament representing a working class district of Montreal. He came a long way to become a Liberal leader in 2013 and shed the party of its sense of entitlement.

Meanwhile, the 1.25 million-strong Indo-Canadian community also had much to cheer about as it doubled its representation in the new Parliament with the election of a record number of 19 MPs. Though comprising only about 3% of the population of Canada, the community outperformed those numbers. The new number of Indo-Canadian lawmakers far outstripped the previous high of nine.