Slow clap for the Justin Trudeau Hug-O-Meter?
The tally is in. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed aboard each new minister of his cabinet, he shared 22 hugs and 32 kisses. The longest hug—clocking in at nine seconds—was with Kirsty Duncan, minister of science, while the runner-ups were seven seconds long with Bill Morneau, the new minister of finance, and Maryam Monsef, the minister of democratic institutions.
Related:Get to know the cabinet with Maclean’s annotated portrait
The tightest squeeze went to Chrystia Freeland, the minister of international trade, while the quickest canoodles—lasting just two or three seconds—were with Scott Brison, president of the Treasury Board, and Mélanie Joly, the minister of Canadian heritage. The nine ministers who didn’t hug the new Prime Minister got back pats, cheek kisses or shoulder holds, but they still missed out. As Trudeau said to Freeland during the ceremony, “I’m a good hugger.”
Hugs with Trudeau, from longest to shortest
cabinet-hugs
| Minister | Length of total embrace including hug (seconds) |
|---|---|
| Kirsty Duncan | 12 |
| Amarjeet Sohi | 8 |
| Chrystia Freeland | 8 |
| John McCallum | 7 |
| Bill Morneau | 7 |
| Maryam Monsef | 7 |
| Patty Hajdu | 7 |
| Bardish Chagger | 7 |
| Navdeep Singh Bains | 6 |
| Judy Foote | 6 |
| Kent Hehr | 6 |
| Jean-Yves Duclos | 5 |
| Dominic LeBlanc | 5 |
| Carolyn Bennett | 4 |
| Gordon Carr | 4 |
| Carla Qualtrough | 4 |
| Harjit Singh Sajjan | 4 |
| Jody Wilson-Raybould | 3 |
| Scott Brison | 3 |
| Marc Garneau | 3 |
| Hunter Tootoo | 3 |
| Melanie Joly | 2 |
Here are more odd numbers from Trudeau’s swearing-in:
Left-handed signatures
Six
Cries from a baby
One
Giggles from a young girl
Two
Applause for Justin Trudeau’s swearing
52 seconds
Number of members of youth choir singing O Canada at the end of the ceremony
34
Get the Best of Maclean’s straight to your inbox.
Sign up for news, commentary, analysis and promotions. Join 80,000+ Canadian readers.