The Prime Minister's personal assistant, Tommy Desfossés, is an Internet sensation. Yes, the Canadian Prime Minister.

Take a minute and let that fact sink in.

Think about how weird it would be to go back in time to 2007 and tell past you that, in 2017 iPhones will be ubiquitous, the guy from The Apprentice will be the President of the U.S., and the Prime Minister's personal assistant will be a minor celebrity.

That third thing would probably be the most shocking.

We're Canadians. We don't really do celebrity, save for those of us who head to the States to star in movies or read news or be Justin Bieber. Or, more recently, those of us who are Prime Minister. We HAVE domestic celebrities, but we don't make too big a deal of them. If you tell a friend "I saw Ron MacLean eating pho the other night," they'll probably be medium excited, but they won't lose their minds. Even our celebrities who've made it south of the border don't really get the full celeb treatment when they come home. I once saw The Weeknd at a diner, and apart from a few stares and one person whispering "That's The Weeknd!" to their dining partner (which was me), nobody really cared.

We certainly don't make celebrities out of fairly minor government employees.

So what happened? Why are publications like Marie Claire, Time, and India Today making photo galleries of Defossés?

It started when Kevin Doyle, a journalist for the Irish Independent, snapped a pic of Defossés overloaded with official gifts given to the PM on a recent trip to Ireland. (The gifts included several gaelic football and rugby jerseys, socks, a framed Yeates poem and a bodhrán, or traditional Irish frame drum.)

[EMBED]

Defossés got in on the joke, as did official Trudeau photographer Adam Scotti.

[EMBED]

[EMBED]

But none of that explains why anyone would care. Why did Doyle's tweet take off like it did?

It doesn't hurt that Defossés is handsome in a non-intimidating sort of way. He's not model hot, but he has a kind of pleasant face you don't mind looking at. The sight gag of Defossés struggling to balance a load of presents while Trudeau strides ahead is also pretty great. But most importantly, Defossés might be the most loveable, relatable everyman imaginable.

There he is, trying to keep up and not drop this goddamn frame drum and armload while his boss charges ahead. Who among us hasn't felt burdened down at work, carrying a heavy load to make our boss look good? We've all fallen asleep, drooled on ourselves, and had some wisenheimer friend take a picture and put it on the Internet. Who hasn't struggled to an almost absurd degree to put on or take off a sweater. (Don't front like you've never been stuck in a sweater. You have.)

We've all been Tommy Desfossés at one point. When we look at his approachably handsome, medium put-upon face, we see ourselves. And in an age of viral fame, maybe we're all a little thrilled by the fact we might all be one weird picture away from being in Marie Claire.

So let's take a minute to applaud this regular guy's moment in the sun. Enjoy it Tommy, on behalf of all of us.

Chris Dart is Toronto-based writer, communications consultant, Brazilian jiu-jitsu enthusiast and cat dad. He writes about music, politics, sports, pop culture, and occasionally his stupid feelings.