Justin Trudeau's 'sunny ways' already forcing old foes to mend fences

On election night,Justin Trudeau promisedto lead a government characterized by"sunny ways,"and it seems that new spirithas alreadyrubbed off onsome famous foes in Canadian history and all it took was a seating chart.

Two former Liberal prime ministers, JeanChrtienandJohn Turner, were both in the ballroomat Rideau Hall to witness the swearing-in of Trudeau's new cabinet on Wednesday.

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But they weren't just in the same room, they were seated right next to one another, and that positioning raisedeyebrows among some longtime political observers.

It might seem like alogical choice: pair up the country's elder statesmen. The twocould reminisceabout the good olddays when they both served in PierreTrudeau's cabinet, and Justin Trudeau was nothing more than a toddler nipping at his father's heels.

But what a casual observer of history might have forgottenis thatChrtien, 81, and Turner, 86, have had a truly tumultuous relationship. They practically invented "Liberal infighting."

And yet they didn't end up side by side accidentally. After all, the Prime Minister's Office drew up the seating chart.

'Bad blood' betweenChrtien and Turner

The badblood between the two beganto brew in 1978 when a paper Turner authored harshly criticized Chrtien's performance as finance minister. For weeks, he was taunted in the House of Commons by the opposition.

Chrtiencounter-attacked, calling Turner's writings nothing more than "a gossip column that you can have for 15 cents."Hewould never forget the incident and vowed revenge.

The animosity boiled over in 1986 when the two men squared off in an epic leadership battle around the party's convention.

Jean Chrtien loses the Liberal leadership in 1986

39 years ago

Duration 3:23

Jean Chrtien loses to John Turner in a bitter race to head the Liberal party.

Fresh off one of the party's worst election performances in its historythe 1984 electionChrtienmade a move todislodgeTurner from the top job. In fact, this quest for the leadership morphed into an outrightanti-Turner crusade.

Ultimately, the polished Turner triumphed over thep'titgarsfrom Shawinigan'sinsurgency.

None of that animosity was on display Wednesday. CBC cameras caught the two engaged in friendly chatterbefore the formal swearing-in ceremony began.

Turner cracked a smile, andChrtienwarmlygrabbed his old colleague and rival's arm as he vigorously made a point. Sunny ways, indeed.

Former vice-regals make nice

And yet it wasn't onlyChrtien and Turner who were forced to make nice at the proceedings Wednesday. Two former governors general Adrienne Clarkson and Michalle Jean were also seated next to one another, and they, too, have had a fractious relationship.

Clarkson, in 2009, made comments that many interpreted as a slight against Jean: future vice-regals, Clarkson said, should be forced to undergo a public Canadian knowledge quiz before they're appointed by the prime minister of the day.

The remark was made afterJean made a glaring geographical error shemixed up B.C.'s Coastal Mountains and the Rockies.

Jean defended the slip-up and her qualifications to hold the highest officein the land."What I brought [to the job]... was my own story. And we live in a country where every individual can do that," Jean said.

"That's why we need to work on our sense of belonging. And belonging goes beyond the ability to name the Mackenzie River and say where it is. It goes far beyond that."

And asfor Clarkson's insinuationthat Jean, a former Radio-Canada journalist who spent virtually all of her adult life in Quebec, was woefully ignorant about EnglishCanada? Jean swatted it away like a fly.

"I believe one lifetime is not enough to discover Canada. What you need above all else before taking on this job is having a vision, a desire to salute the best of what this country has to offer...

"I have this privilege. Each governor general has had this privilege."

Michaelle Jean

15 years ago

Duration 19:43

Governor-General Michalle Jean on her roots, blogging, eating seal heart and Aboriginal rights.

Clarkson, herself a former CBC broadcaster, also got her back up after the media madea fuss about Jean's appetite for raw seal meat.

On a trip to Nunavut, Jean famously ate the Inuit delicacy, causing an uproar among some animal rights activists.

"I've eaten raw food here since 1971. It's nothing new to me, OK?" Clarkson told The Canadian Press at the time."I have a lovely seal skin coat.I've eaten raw food since 1971 and there you are."

It seemed the two mended fences in the midst of all the pomp and pageantry. Jean was spotted chatting with Clarkson's husband, John Ralston Saul, while Clarkson looked on with a warm, even sunny, smile.