11-year-old Inuit throat singers steal the show from Canada’s new prime minister

Justin Trudeau, the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, was sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday after almost a decade of Conservative rule. But two young Inuit throat singers stole the show at his swearing-in ceremony.

Samantha Metcalfe and Cailyn Degrandpre, both 11, performed in a friendly competition of traditional Inuit throat singing in front of the new prime minister. In Inuit throat singing, one person sets the rhythm, the pace, and the sound, and the other follows. The person who lasts longest without laughing is the winner, as each song tends to end in laughter, according to the Inuit Cultural Online Resource website.

A record 10 indigenous people were elected to Canada’s House of Commons in this last election. That’s an increase of three from the 2011 election, when seven indigenous people won seats, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Trudeau and the incoming cabinet ministers walked into the swearing-in ceremony guided by 12-year-old Theland Kicknosway, a traditional dancer, singer, and drummer who earlier this year organized a walk to raise awareness about the children of Aboriginal women in Canada who have disappeared or have been murdered.

The self-proclaimed feminist prime minister also made headlines yesterday when he was asked about his gender-equal cabinet. When a reporter asked him why he picked 15 men and 15 women as part of his ministerial team Trudeau replied with a simple answer: “Because it’s 2015.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxWL-ksZE4s’

Trudeau vowed during the election to increase taxes on Canadian citizens making more than $200,000 a year, and lower those for the middle class. He also said if he was elected his party would work to legalize marijuana and resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees.