It’s no big secret that Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister and ardent feminist, is achingly hip; one need only look so far as the now-viral photos of him during his scruffy, rugged younger years or his bromance with equally charismatic world leader Prince Harry to know that Trudeau is the definition of charming.
So it should come as no surprise that Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai riffed on the prime minister’s cool factor while addressing the Canadian Parliament and accepting an honorary Canadian citizenship. Yousafzai poked some fun at Trudeau’s decidedly youthful markers of taste, while praising his gender equity for women.
“I was also so happy to meet your Prime Minister this morning. I am amazed by his embrace of refugees, his commitment to appointing Canada’s first gender-balanced cabinet and his dedication to keeping women and girls at the centre of your development strategy,” she said. “We have heard so much about Prime Minister Trudeau but one thing has surprised me: people are always talking about how young he is. They say that he’s the second-youngest Prime Minister in Canadian history. He does yoga. He has tattoos. And a lot more.”
Yousafzai later emphasized that age should be no factor when it comes to leadership, again referencing how much Trudeau has accomplished as the second-youngest Prime Minister in Canadian history.
“While it may be true that he is young for a head of government, I would like to tell the children of Canada: you do not have to be as old as Prime Minister Trudeau to be a leader,” she said.
Watch the full clip below.
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