Photos of Canada's new defence minister, Harjit Sajjan, a decorated lieutenant-colonel with the Canadian Armed Forces, were making the rounds on social media shortly after his swearing-in on Wednesday in Ottawa, with many highlighting his tough-guy image.

Several on Twitter and Reddit described him as a «badass.»

Sajjan, the newly elected Liberal MP for Vancouver South and member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, grew up in his riding and later walked the streets of Vancouver as a detective with the Vancouver Police Department's gang crime unit.

He served for 11 years with the police, according to his biography.

According to Twitter Canada, the announcement that Sajjan would be joining the cabinet was the Liberal Party's most retweeted post of the day.

Sajjan is a combat veteran. He served one tour in Bosnia and was deployed three times to Afghanistan.

He was the first Sikh to command a Canadian army regiment — the reserve The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own).

​Some compared his on-the-ground experience with the Canadian military to his predecessors.
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