We Day crowd loves new PM, wife

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for kids: you can change the world.

Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau addressed 16,000 youth who attended We Day in Ottawa Tuesday afternoon.

The event, which was co-founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger, celebrates the contributions of young people and encourages them to get involved with their community.

In his first public appearance since his swearing-in ceremony, Trudeau encouraged young people to help make the world a better place.

“At an event like this you’ll have a lot of people coming up on stage and talking about the future,” he said.

“I don’t want you guys to think about yourself as leaders of tomorrow. . . . This is about you being leaders today.”

Trudeau and his wife received a warm welcome, and the crowd erupted in a cheer of “Trudeau! Trudeau!” after he had finished.

Grégoire Trudeau and Trudeau made it clear the day wasn’t about them. “Canada! Canada!” they cheered back.

Tuesday’s Ottawa event was the fourth We Day that Trudeau had attended as a speaker, and he and his wife were last-minute additions to today’s schedule.

Tickets to the event were free and given to students who participated in the We Schools program, which helps youth volunteer for local and global charities.

Since 2007, youth involved in We Schools have raised $62 million raised for more than 2,500 local and global organizations.

Free the Children, the charity behind We Day and We Schools, was cofounded by Craig Kielburger when he was just 12 after he read a Toronto Star article about Pakistani boy Iqbal Masih, who was murdered after becoming a child labour activist.

After reading that story, Kielburger convinced his friends to start campaigning to end child slavery.

“The big challenge that we’re facing — and that our friends Craig and Marc have done such an incredible job with over the past years — is showing you that each and every one of us is powerful,” Trudeau said.

Grégoire Trudeau emphasized the importance of self-esteem and spoke about her own struggles with eating disorders as a teenager.

“Ask yourself the question, how are you when you’re alone with yourself and nobody else in the world is watching? I encourage you to really, really love yourself . . . because you’re all amazing human beings!”

Trudeau has made youth issues a priority in his early days as prime minister — he appointed himself Minister of Youth and answered questions from elementary school students shortly after being sworn in.