Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said women’s rights and progress are under attack, citing the recent defeat of U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Speaking Tuesday night at an event hosted by the Equal Voice Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving gender representation in Canadian politics, Trudeau said there are regressive forces fighting against women’s progress.
“It wasn’t supposed to be that way. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. We were supposed to be making steady, if sometimes difficult, progress toward progress,” said Trudeau, who is a proud feminist. He added that this will continue to be the case. I’m an ally.
“And yet, just a few weeks ago, the United States voted for the second time not to elect its first female president. Everywhere, women’s rights and women’s progress are under attack. Overtly and Subtly.”
Trudeau’s comments come as he meets with provincial and territorial premiers to discuss Canada’s approach to negotiations with the U.S. as Canada faces the threat of a 25 per cent tariff increase by President-elect Donald Trump. It was served the day before it was scheduled to be served.
The remarks also came hours after Trump mocked Trudeau on social media, calling him a “great Canadian governor.”
The post was in reference to a joke Trump made about two weeks ago during a dinner with Prime Minister Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago mansion, during which the president-elect said Canada was the 51st state. He teased that he may join the United States as a member of the United States.
Conservative MP Melissa Lanzmann also spoke at Tuesday’s event.
She said the room was united in the goal of electing more women, but the country was divided.
“Above all, what divides us is the diversity of thought that has been replaced by the lofty platitudes of those who believe that all women holding elected office must have the same views on every issue.” I think it’s because I’ve put sex on the back burner,” Lanzmann said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said change needs to happen to stop the phenomenon of “older white men failing upwards” from happening again.
“If we don’t change things, the same system will continue. And the same system will benefit those who are already in power,” Singh said.
“It’s policy. By putting in place a real clear strategy.”
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May concluded her address to MPs by praising Trudeau, the first Canadian prime minister to appoint a gender-balanced cabinet, and calling on female MPs to work together across party lines.
“It’s important that we build each other up, not tear each other down, and that we stand together arm in arm,” Prime Minister Theresa May said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.
