Syrian Refugee Family Names Infant Son After Justin Trudeau

Philip Lewis

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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2016, Italy

A woman looks through a window of rescue ship 'Aquarius' as more the 380 migrants arrive in the port of Cagliari, Sardinia, on May 26, 2016, two days after being rescued near the Libyan coasts. 
A woman looks through a window of rescue ship 'Aquarius' as more the 380 migrants arrive in the port of Cagliari, Sardinia, on May 26, 2016, two days after being rescued near the Libyan coasts. 

2016, Turkey

Syrians woman holds her children after 50 refugees captured by Turkish coast guard while they were illegally trying to reach Greece's Kastellorizo island, in shores of Kas District of Antalya, southern province of Turkey on February 24, 2016. 
Syrians woman holds her children after 50 refugees captured by Turkish coast guard while they were illegally trying to reach Greece's Kastellorizo island, in shores of Kas District of Antalya, southern province of Turkey on February 24, 2016. 

2016, Syria

Syrian women sit next to the fence during a sandstorm at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, housing people who fled Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold Raqa, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the group's de facto capital on November 10, 2016.
Syrian women sit next to the fence during a sandstorm at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, housing people who fled Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold Raqa, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the group's de facto capital on November 10, 2016.

2016, France

Kurdish Iraqi women leave aboard a bus the 'Jungle' migrant camp in Calais, northern France, on October 12, 2016, for a reception and guidance centre (CAO - Centre d'accueil et d'orientation). 
Kurdish Iraqi women leave aboard a bus the 'Jungle' migrant camp in Calais, northern France, on October 12, 2016, for a reception and guidance centre (CAO - Centre d'accueil et d'orientation). 

2016, Serbia

Migrants and refugees walk on January 8, 2016 after crossing the Macedonian border in the Serbian village of Miratovac. 
Migrants and refugees walk on January 8, 2016 after crossing the Macedonian border in the Serbian village of Miratovac. 

2016, Iraq

Iraqis women displaced from the city of Fallujah queue up to collect aid distributed by the Norwegian Refugee Council at a newly opened camp where they are taking shelter in Amriyat al-Fallujah on June 27, 2016, south of Fallujah. 
Iraqis women displaced from the city of Fallujah queue up to collect aid distributed by the Norwegian Refugee Council at a newly opened camp where they are taking shelter in Amriyat al-Fallujah on June 27, 2016, south of Fallujah. 

2015, Germany

Houda, 48, hugs her son Ihab, 30, a Syrian migrant from Deir al-Zor, as he and his family arrive at the railway station in Lubeck, Germany September 18, 2015. Picture taken September 18, 2015. 
Houda, 48, hugs her son Ihab, 30, a Syrian migrant from Deir al-Zor, as he and his family arrive at the railway station in Lubeck, Germany September 18, 2015. Picture taken September 18, 2015. 

2015, Greece

Syrian refugee mother carries her child off a dinghy after arriving at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey September 18, 2015. 
Syrian refugee mother carries her child off a dinghy after arriving at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey September 18, 2015. 

2015, Greece

A woman and a child peer from a bus, after migrants and refugees disembarked from a government chartered ferry, seen in reflection, in the port of Piraeus in Athens on November 27, 2015. 
A woman and a child peer from a bus, after migrants and refugees disembarked from a government chartered ferry, seen in reflection, in the port of Piraeus in Athens on November 27, 2015. 

2015, Aegean Sea

Refugees and migrants arrive at Lesbos island after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on October 27, 2015. 
Refugees and migrants arrive at Lesbos island after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on October 27, 2015. 

2015, Turkey

Syrians fleeing the war rush through broken down border fences to enter Turkish territory illegally, near the Turkish border crossing at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province on June 14, 2015. 
Syrians fleeing the war rush through broken down border fences to enter Turkish territory illegally, near the Turkish border crossing at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province on June 14, 2015. 

2015, Greece

A woman hugs a baby wrapped in an emergency blanket as refugees and migrants arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on October 1, 2015. 
A woman hugs a baby wrapped in an emergency blanket as refugees and migrants arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on October 1, 2015. 

2015, Greece

A woman reacts as she arrived with other refugees on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on a inflatable boat on October 1, 2015 near village of Skala Sikaminias, Greece. 
A woman reacts as she arrived with other refugees on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on a inflatable boat on October 1, 2015 near village of Skala Sikaminias, Greece. 

2015, Aegean Sea

A woman falls into the water with her child as they disembark off a dinghi as refugees and migrants arrive at the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on October 2, 2015.
A woman falls into the water with her child as they disembark off a dinghi as refugees and migrants arrive at the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on October 2, 2015.

2015, Rwanda

A Burundian woman carries laundry at the Gashora refugee camp in Gashora, Bugesera, Rwanda Wednesday April 29, 2015.
A Burundian woman carries laundry at the Gashora refugee camp in Gashora, Bugesera, Rwanda Wednesday April 29, 2015.

2015, Croatia

A stampede occurs as Middle Eastern refugees rush to find space on a train headed to Beli Manastir on September 18, 2015 in Tovarnik, Croatia. 
A stampede occurs as Middle Eastern refugees rush to find space on a train headed to Beli Manastir on September 18, 2015 in Tovarnik, Croatia. 

2014, Uganda

A South Sudanese woman sleeps on January 7, 2014 at the Ochaya Rhino refugee camp in the Arua District, about 495 kilometres north west of Uganda's capital Kampala. 
A South Sudanese woman sleeps on January 7, 2014 at the Ochaya Rhino refugee camp in the Arua District, about 495 kilometres north west of Uganda's capital Kampala. 

2014, Turkey

This old woman lost all her power after reaching Turkey coming from Syria, on September 30, 2014.
This old woman lost all her power after reaching Turkey coming from Syria, on September 30, 2014.

2014, Syria

Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate in this August 11, 2014. 
Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate in this August 11, 2014. 

2014, Iraq

An 80 year old women becomes overwhelmed by the trauma of walking for 2 days from Qaraqosh is waiting to receive medical attention, in Irbil, Iraq, on August 10, 2014.
An 80 year old women becomes overwhelmed by the trauma of walking for 2 days from Qaraqosh is waiting to receive medical attention, in Irbil, Iraq, on August 10, 2014.

2014, Central African Republic

A refugee pullo woman holds her child while he receives care at a centre for displaced muslims fleeing the anti-balaka militia, in Yaloke, some 200 km east of Bangui, on May 4, 2014. 
A refugee pullo woman holds her child while he receives care at a centre for displaced muslims fleeing the anti-balaka militia, in Yaloke, some 200 km east of Bangui, on May 4, 2014. 

2013, France

A Roma woman cries after the announcement of their eviction from an illegal camp on the bank of the Var river in Nice, southeastern France, November 21, 2013. 
A Roma woman cries after the announcement of their eviction from an illegal camp on the bank of the Var river in Nice, southeastern France, November 21, 2013. 

2013, Iraq

Close-up of a young syrian refugee face with blue eyes in Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq on Sep. 21, 2013.
Close-up of a young syrian refugee face with blue eyes in Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq on Sep. 21, 2013.

2012, Thailand

A Burmese woman waits for food rations to be given out at the Thai Burmese Border Center inside the Mae La refugee camp June 7, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. 
A Burmese woman waits for food rations to be given out at the Thai Burmese Border Center inside the Mae La refugee camp June 7, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. 

2011, Kenya

A newly registered Somali refugee supports herself on a chain-link perimeter fence outside a registration and medical aid facility at the Dadaab Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in eastern Kenya on July 23, 2011 where the influx of Somali's displaced by a ravaging famine remains high. 
A newly registered Somali refugee supports herself on a chain-link perimeter fence outside a registration and medical aid facility at the Dadaab Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in eastern Kenya on July 23, 2011 where the influx of Somali's displaced by a ravaging famine remains high. 

2010, Darfur

An internally displaced woman uses a pick-axe to chip off clay to make bricks at Abu Shouk IDP's camp in Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 14, 2010.
An internally displaced woman uses a pick-axe to chip off clay to make bricks at Abu Shouk IDP's camp in Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 14, 2010.

2009, Bosnia

Milena Gavric, a 90-year-old Bosnian Serb refugee, holds her head as she waits for a U.N. delegation to visit her collective center in Srebrenica August 26, 2009. 
Milena Gavric, a 90-year-old Bosnian Serb refugee, holds her head as she waits for a U.N. delegation to visit her collective center in Srebrenica August 26, 2009. 

2009, Kenya

Mako Bakar Bakaro, who lost a leg in fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia in 2008, stands against the wall of her hut August 21, 2009 in a refugee complex in Dadaab, Kenya. 
Mako Bakar Bakaro, who lost a leg in fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia in 2008, stands against the wall of her hut August 21, 2009 in a refugee complex in Dadaab, Kenya. 

2008, Algeria

A Sahrawi woman walks with a stick at Dakhla's refugee camp, near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, April 16, 2008. 
A Sahrawi woman walks with a stick at Dakhla's refugee camp, near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, April 16, 2008. 

2008, Afghanistan

An Afghan refugee woman cries after troops arrest her relative during a search operation in the Afghan refugee camp in Karachi on December 2, 2008. 
An Afghan refugee woman cries after troops arrest her relative during a search operation in the Afghan refugee camp in Karachi on December 2, 2008. 

2006, Lebanon

A woman gestures from a van carrying displaced people, one of thousands of civilians fleeing their southern villages as a forty eight hour halt of the Israeli bombing campaign allows access out of the area July 31, 2006 in Tyre, Lebanon. 
A woman gestures from a van carrying displaced people, one of thousands of civilians fleeing their southern villages as a forty eight hour halt of the Israeli bombing campaign allows access out of the area July 31, 2006 in Tyre, Lebanon. 

2005, Afghanistan

An Afghan refugee holds her child as she sits in the sunshine inside their home in Kabul, 02 October 2005. 
An Afghan refugee holds her child as she sits in the sunshine inside their home in Kabul, 02 October 2005. 

2005, Sri Lanka

A mother washes her child in the Mahmoud Ladies School which is being used as a refugee shelter for homeless tsunami families. A mother washes her child in the Mahmoud Ladies School which is being used as a refugee shelter for homeless tsunami families in Kalmunai on Sri Lanka's east coast January 10, 2005. The death toll from the Asian tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Indonesia on December 26, stood at 156,193 people, government and health officials said.

2005, Sudan

Internally displaced Sudanese women collect rainwater to be used for drinking and cooking in southern Sudan. Internally displaced Sudanese women from Mahli village in southern Darfur region collect rainwater to be used for drinking and cooking as they now live in an improvised refugee camp near Jaach village, northern Awil county in southern Sudan April 26, 2005. 

2004, Gaza Strip

A Palestinian woman breaks down in tears trying to salvage usable belongings from her demolished house in the northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabalia on Oct. 16, 2004. 
A Palestinian woman breaks down in tears trying to salvage usable belongings from her demolished house in the northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabalia on Oct. 16, 2004. 

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