OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau is meeting for the first time with the Liberal MPs who won election last month.
The last time Trudeau met his caucus, there were 34 MPs clustered in a small basement room on Parliament Hill, far from the eyes of tourists and parliamentary reporters.
Now, the newly minted prime minister and his 183 MPs fill the spacious reading room off the central corridor known as the Hall of Honour, an illustrious room reserved for the governing party's caucus meetings.
And they had to run a gauntlet of dozens of reporters and cameras to get there.
In his opening remarks, Trudeau told his MPs that amid all their new responsibilities the one job they must never forget is to be a strong voice in service of the constituents who sent them to Parliament.
He also reminded them that Canadians expect them to behave in an open, respectful and collegial manner.