By Aisha Hyder

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] rushed to English class beaming, yet feeling sort of silly wearing my red hijab. I thought back to my friend’s remark in History class, “Oh, cute! Are you wearing red because Liberals won?” I had smiled and shrugged then, but now I reflected on why I was wearing red. I concluded I was wearing red because I was proud, proud that Canadians had chosen change. I took my seat, and as if my English teacher was reading my mind, she said, “With Justin Trudeau, I sense a renaissance in Canada.”

It has been two months since Trudeau has been in office, and my oh my, do I sense a renaissance in Canada. During his victory speech, PM Trudeau stated, “Politics doesn’t have to be negative and personal to be successful …you can appeal to the better angels of our nature and you can win while doing it.” This was a very Liberal statement, and so far, it seems that Trudeau has been living up to it.

While the USA and much of Europe were either trembling or debating over Syrian refugees, PM Trudeau took action. On December 11, Trudeau arrived at the Pearson Airport to greet the first group of 2 500 Syrian refugees. He showed them affection, offered them presents, and like one of the new Canadians said, he made them feel at home. Excitement was in the air; many Canadians were proud of the Canada they were seeing unfold before their eyes, and the world was watching. Trudeau knew that the world would be watching.

“This is a wonderful night where we get to show not just a planeload of new Canadians what Canada is all about, but we get to show the world how to open our hearts and welcome in people who are fleeing extraordinarily difficult situations.”

From shutting down CF-18 air strikes in Iraq and Syria and telling Canadians to ask themselves how best Canada can help establish peace and stability in the Middle East, to encouraging a national public inquiry into the ongoing tragedy of missing indigenous women and girls, to inviting children from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario to watch an early screening of, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, PM Trudeau has done much in these past two months to create a positive image for himself and his party.

But are these actions all an image, or are they fundamentally more profound? Trudeau answered this at the Maclean’s Town Hall. “It’s not about image, it’s about substance,” he said. “If you want to serve Canadians well …then you have to listen to them. You have to get to know people. You have to be engaged in real conversations and talk about their hopes and dreams for the country.”

PM Justin Trudeau has seemed to understand a thing that several have yet to understand, that as long as you strive to be a person of virtue and empathy, you will get the support of people, which will lead you to be a successful leader.

Not only in red, but in every colour that I wear, I am proud that Canadians chose change. I am hopeful for a land that accepts and protects the rights of minorities, I am thrilled to watch the greatness that Canada’s mosaic of people can achieve, and I am confident that PM Justin Trudeau will leave a legacy in many Canadian hearts just as his father once did.