Changing Of The Guard In Canada

Jean Chretien stepped down Friday after 10 years as Canada's popular and often combative prime minister, giving way to Paul Martin, a former finance minister who has pledged to seek smoother ties with the United States despite strains over Iraq.

The private resignation and Martin's nationally televised swearing-in took place in back-to-back ceremonies in a chamber guarded by red-coated soldiers at the offices of Canada's governor-general.

Martin took his oath of office in both English and French, becoming Canada's 21st prime minister. The multicultural ceremony included a string ensemble's rendition of "O Canada" and a purification ritual in which an elder from one of Canada's Indian nations dusted Martin with an eagle feather.

In his first major act, Martin appointed an array of new ministers to the Cabinet and created a new department of public security — geared to cope with terrorism and disasters — that will group together the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the national intelligence service, disaster response agencies, and the agencies overseeing border control and ports.

Martin, 65, has been a powerful figure for years in the governing Liberal Party and overwhelmingly won a leadership election after Chretien announced his retirement plans earlier this year.

Chretien, raised in a Quebec mill town, was one of the longest-serving heads of government among major Western nations. He resigned both as prime minister and member of Parliament and made no comment to reporters as he exited from the ceremony — a private citizen for the first time in 40 years.

Chretien enjoyed a warm friendship with former President Clinton, but relations with the Bush administration have been tense due to Canada's refusal to join the war in Iraq.

Martin, considered slightly more conservative than Chretien on some issues, has expressed interest in improving ties with Washington, for example by forming a Cabinet-level committee dedicated to Canadian-U.S. relations.

However, he spoke critically this week of President Bush's plan to exclude countries outside the U.S.-led coalition from bidding on lucrative rebuilding contracts in Iraq. Mr. Bush's decision was "difficult to fathom," said Martin, indicating he would raise the issue with American officials.

Chretien said the president called him on Thursday to congratulate him on his career, express thanks for Canada's deployment of troops in Afghanistan and suggest that there might be some flexibility regarding the contract ban.

"He was basically telling me not to worry," Chretien told reporters Thursday after his last Cabinet meeting in Ottawa, the capital.

Chretien, who was sworn in as prime minister in 1993 and turns 70 in January, had planned to retire in February but agreed to leave earlier after pressure from Martin, Liberal Party members and opposition parties.

Chretien angered Mr. Bush earlier this year by refusing to contribute Canadian forces to the Iraq war, prompting the president to cancel a planned visit to Ottawa in May. Previously, some of Chretien's subordinates publicly ridiculed Mr. Bush over his unilateral policies; one aide was dismissed after calling the president a "moron."

Mr. Bush and Martin could hold their first official meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Mexico in January. Iraq might not be the only contentious topic; though the two nations are the world's largest trading partners, they have long-standing trade disputes over lumber and other commodities.

On the domestic front, Martin is a fiscal conservative credited with balancing Canada's budget during his nine years as finance minister. He is expected to call for national elections early next year and would be the favorite to win a full five-year term over any opposition candidate.

The Liberals' biggest domestic challenge is to rebuild major programs that have been cramped by reduced spending, including the military, the universal health care system and education. Martin also inherits two high-profile pieces of social legislation from Chretien — proposals to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and legalize gay marriage.

The new finance minister is Ralph Goodale, who had been Chretien's public works minister, while Anne McLellan, who had been health minister, was named deputy prime minister and put in charge of the new public-security department. Chretien's foreign minister, Bill Graham, was one of the few officials to retain his post under Martin.

Martin entered politics in 1988 after a career heading Canada Steamship Lines. His father, also named Paul, was a long-serving Cabinet minister who lost bids for the Liberal Party leadership.