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Why America's over-the-top inauguration spectacles are so different from Canada's staid swearing-ins

On the left, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet picks walk to Rideau Hall to be sworn in. On the right, U.S. President Barack Obama takes the oath of office in 2013. Photos from The Canadian Press and Getty Images
On the left, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet picks walk to Rideau Hall to be sworn in. On the right, U.S. President Barack Obama takes the oath of office in 2013. Photos from The Canadian Press and Getty Images

The stark contrast between how the U.S. and Canada swear in their new leaders is one deeply rooted in history and each nation’s approach to governance.

Friday’s U.S. presidential inauguration of Donald Trump is set to include a parade, several balls, and a much-anticipated address by the newly-installed president. It’s a stark contrast to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s modest and subdued swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in November 2015.

During Canada’s version of an inauguration, officially referred to as a swearing-in ceremony, the prime minister is sworn in alongside his or her cabinet in a ceremony that takes place in the official home of the monarch’s designate, the Governor General.

The new ministers take a collection of oaths, depending on whether they have served in the cabinet before. Those include the oath of allegiance to the Crown, the privy councillor’s oath, and the oath of office. The prime minister traditionally holds a bible while reciting the oath of office (though Paul Martin opted not to), which is held by the clerk of the privy council.

Unlike the American inauguration, and the inescapable hoopla that surrounds it, the swearing-in ceremony is generally a staid affair, without a parade, concerts or balls. Among the few traditions, the swearing in concludes when the Governor General passes off the Seal of Canada to the new government. The seal, which has existed since Confederation, depicts the reigning monarch and is used on all state documents.

According to the Governor General’s office: “The presence of the Seal melds together the notions of authenticity, authority and the will of the Crown, while at the same time lending a certain prestige to a document.”

The Seal of Canada is passed from Governor General David Johnston to James Moore Minister of Industry during a cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Monday, July 15, 2013. Photo from The Canadian Press
The Seal of Canada is passed from Governor General David Johnston to James Moore Minister of Industry during a cabinet shuffle at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Monday, July 15, 2013. Photo from The Canadian Press

Following the ceremony, the prime minister will often give a short speech to the public and press gathered for the ceremony. Trudeau’s included the mic-drop line “Because it’s 2015” when asked why he strove for gender parity in his cabinet.

In 2003, Paul Martin’s swearing-in was noted for including an Indigenous smudging ceremony, a first for such an event, while Trudeau included Inuit throat-singers.

The symbolic and subtle inclusion of Canadian culture is in contrast to the long line of American superstars that perform mini-concerts at U.S. festivities. Past performers have included Beyonce and Stevie Wonder, while this year the likes of Toby Keith and 3 Doors Down are slated to perform.


The difference between Canadian and American political culture can be traced back to the birth of each nation. After the U.S. became a republic in 1776, it aspired to remove itself from British traditions, and form a brand new government.

“The American Republic was an unusual experiment,” explains Stephen Azzi, a political management professor at Carleton University. “People still thought of government in terms of monarchy. So when a new president takes office, it’s the equivalent to a new king or queen being crowned. It was assumed you had to have large ceremonies, so it made sense to have these surround the president. We never went through that in Canada because we kept the monarchy.”

The monarchy, under which Queen Elizabeth II is Canada’s head of state, does not have such a reserved approach to investiture of its chief, with coronation ceremonies dripping in gemstones and centuries of tradition.

In fact, it is the swearing in of the Crown’s representative in Canada, the Governor General, that has more parallels to the U.S. president’s ceremony. In both, the oath is administered by the chief justice of the supreme court. The Governor General can opt to hold a bible, or not — as was the case with former governor general Michaëlle Jean. U.S. presidents traditionally do hold the holy book, sometimes selecting which particular edition as a symbol. (Obama used bibles belonging to Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. Trump will also use Lincoln’s bible, as well as one gifted to him by his mother when he was a boy.)

The traditions of the American inauguration aren’t written into law, yet they continue to be recognized by each in-coming president. Some common conventions include staging the inaugural speech outside, and often the president’s spouse holds the bible while the oath is taken.

Naturally, traditions have been eschewed, generally because of circumstance. Lyndon Johnson was famously sworn in on a plane by a federal judge, after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, while James Monroe did his indoors due to bad weather.

William Henry Harrison, who’s credited with inventing the inaugural parade, should have done the same. Instead, his inaugural address, which was the longest in history, lead to the shortest presidency. He gave the lengthy speech during a strong rainstorm, which caused him to come down with pneumonia. He died from the illness less than a month later.

There have been other, less tragic flubs. When justice John Roberts misspoke the order of the words of the oath during the inauguration of Barack Obama, the judge came to the president’s office several days later to redo the oath.

American inaugurations have also produced some historic quotes.

John F. Kennedy sternly instructed the people to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” while Franklin D. Roosevelt infamously told them that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Barry Kay, political science professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, says the closest Canadians have to “flowery rhetoric” is the speech from the throne, which is read by the Governor General. It’s a tradition we’ve inherited from Britain, where the monarch will read the address. The speech from the throne comes at the beginning of a new session of Parliament, which can be several weeks or several months after the election. (It was more than four months after Joe Clark became prime minister.) The government can also start a new session whenever it thinks it has accomplished everything in the previous speech from the throne.

“That’s as close as we get to a big occasion, but it’s not about the swearing-in of the prime minister, it’s about the beginning of a new session of parliament,” Kay says.

Stuart MacKay, a PhD candidate in the Department of History at Carleton doubts many Canadians will connect to or even remember a throne speech, as it’s generally meant to address the government’s future plans. In the U.S., there is a much more urgent intention that comes with an inaugural address.

“It’s a means of looking forward and backwards at the same time,” he says. “It’s supposed to inspire the people and retain that connection.”