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Justin Trudeau Sworn In as Canadian PM

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the crowds outside Rideau Hall after the Cabinet's swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa, Nov. 4, 2015.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the crowds outside Rideau Hall after the Cabinet's swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa, Nov. 4, 2015.

Justin Trudeau was sworn in Wednesday as Canada's prime minister, ending 10 years of Conservative rule.

Trudeau led his Liberal Party to a commanding victory in parliamentary elections last month, taking 184 seats compared with 99 for Stephen Harper's Conservative Party.

Trudeau, 43, follows in the footsteps of his late father, Pierre Trudeau, who held the office for nearly 16 years.

Just after being sworn in, Trudeau announced his Cabinet, a group of ministers divided evenly between men and women.

The new ministers, who are mostly aged between 35 and 50, took their oaths in the bilingual ceremony.

After the ceremony, a reporter asked Trudeau why having a gender-balanced Cabinet was so important. The prime minister replied, "Because it's 2015."

He issued a letter late Tuesday that promised a bill for middle-class tax cuts as his first legislative action.

Trudeau also said he planned to expand Canada's engagement on the world stage as a critical piece in boosting his country's economic growth.

He announced plans to attend a flurry of international meetings in the coming weeks, including a G20 leaders summit in Turkey, the global climate change conference in Paris, APEC talks in the Philippines and a summit of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Malta.

Trudeau is the second-youngest prime minister in Canada's history. His opponents alleged during the campaign that he was inexperienced and not ready for the job. The former schoolteacher was first elected to parliament in 2008 and became head of the Liberals in 2013.

His father, Pierre, was first elected prime minister in 1968 on a wave of support among voters that became known as "Trudeaumania."

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