In his first major move as Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney eliminated roughly a third of all cabinet positions, including the crucially important Minister of Women and Gender Equality. This decision marks a major setback for women’s rights in Canada at a time when these rights are under threat around the world.
Carney, sworn in as prime minister on Friday, has justified the trimmed-down cabinet as a “smaller, experienced cabinet” positioned to move fast and secure Canada’s economy in the face of US President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada and other threats.
But deprioritizing gender equality does not help Canada’s economy, and risks entrenching serious gendered harms. The gender wage gap and gendered poverty and inequality persist in Canada. Women and gender diverse workers also face disproportionately high levels of harassment and violence at work. Much work also remains for Canada to ensure and support sexual and reproductive health rights at home and abroad.
The role of Minister of Women and Gender Equality has existed in various forms since 1971. Under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the minister was tasked with developing a 10-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and Canada’s first 2SLGBTQI+ (Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex) Action Plan, as well as supporting all ministers in advancing gender equality, particularly as it relates to economic participation and poverty reduction.
The department Women and Gender Equality Canada will now report to Steven Guilbeault as Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity. But in the absence of a designated minister for women and gender equality, this portfolio risks being sidelined.
As stated by Canadian feminist organizations in a joint statement released Friday, “Gender equality demands dedicated leadership, accountability, and sustained attention – none of which can be adequately achieved when it is treated as an afterthought within a larger, unrelated ministry.”
“Consolidating these responsibilities into a broader portfolio undermines the focus, expertise, and resources required to tackle systemic issues effectively,” the statement added.
Amidst a global backlash against women’s rights – as well as the very concepts of gender identity and gender equality – Canada should be stepping up, not deprioritizing efforts to defend gender equality. Prime Minister Carney should heed Canadian feminist organizations and ensure gender equality is more than an afterthought in his cabinet and economic planning.