Minister of International Trade Chrstia Freehand gives Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a hug after being sworn in during ceremonies at Rideau Hall, Wednesday Nov.4, 2015 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/CP)
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.
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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
| 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
