CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO CANADA Just before midnight on December 10 2015 a government plane landed in Toronto Ontario The plane carried 163 refugees who had fled terror and civil war in Syria Their journey had been long But they had finally arrived in Canada their new home Justin Trudeau was waiting in the airport He had become prime minister two months earlier In his campaign he had promised to help refugees In November 2015 Canadians in Toronto rallied in support of refugees
Now he was keeping that promise As the refugees stepped off the plane he welcomed them to Canada He greeted families and helped them choose winter coats Trudeau had promised to admit 25 000 refugees by the end of February The United States planned to admit only 10 000 people in a year At the time US presidential candidate Donald Trump was calling for a travel ban on Muslims Governors of several US states were trying to block refugees altogether They were afraid of letting potential terrorists into the country Yet the leaders of all 10 Canadian provinces had agreed to take refugees Even opposition party members were in the airport Trudeau called it a wonderful night He declared that Canadians could not be described by one background race language or faith But
The newly arrived refugees needed coats for Canada's cold winters they did share similar hopes and values People all over the world had that in common The refugees were now permanent Canadian residents One day they could become citizens Trudeau believes that Canada succeeds because of its diversity As a world leader he will put that belief to the test
