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New Canada PM Faces Challenges

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper was sworn in as Canada`s 22nd prime minister, promising to "begin a new chapter" after more than 12 years of leadership by the Liberal Party. His government is widely expected to embrace a closer relationship with the Bush administration.

Harper, 46, arrived with his wife and two children for the ceremony in a minivan, reflecting the no-frills, middle-class image he presented on the campaign trail. He has named Peter MacKay, a Conservative strategist with little international experience, as foreign minister, and Gordon O`Connor, a retired brigadier general, as defense minister.

Because his party did not win a majority in the House of Commons, Harper will likely be forced to compromise with opposition parties on his agenda, which centers on taxes, crime and expanded powers for the provinces. Canadians are now waiting to see what course their country and it`s minority-coalition leadership will take under Harper.