Canada’s prime minister now has something in common with a newborn.
Muhammad and Afraa Bilan, a refugee couple that fled Syria and resettled in the Canadian city of Calgary, gave birth to their son Justin-Trudeau Adam Bilal on Thursday.
Refugee advocates and Syrian community members celebrated the announcement on social media.
The happy parents named their son after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a show of gratitude towards him for his policies that have helped bring thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada.
Since Trudeau took office in 2015, more than 40,000 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Canada as of January 2017.
“We like to name him Justin Trudeau because I think it will be a small thank you for the prime minister,” Afraa Bilan told the Calgary Herald. “We love this man, we appreciate him so much. He helped so many of us, he’s a really nice man.”
According to the BBC, Muhammad Bilan was detained by the Syrian army once and was at risk of being detained a second time.
Once the family learned of Canada’s efforts to take in Syrian refugees, they decided to take action.
“Canada is much more safe - there’s no war, nothing,” Afraa Bilan told the BBC. “Everything is different, everything is good - nothing like Syria.”
No word on if the older Justin Trudeau will meet his young namesake yet.
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