Opinion Looks like Canada

Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

After nearly a decade of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s austere approach to government, Canadians voted for change in the general election held last month. They chose Justin Trudeau, the relatively young and inexperienced leader of the Liberal party, as their new prime minister. In the course of a long campaign, Trudeau had promised a departure in both “the things we do and the way we do them”. The day after he was elected, he was spotted at a metro station, thanking constituents and posing for selfies. Within two days of being sworn-in, he held a press conference at the National Press Gallery Theatre (where Harper hadn’t been seen since 2009). And then he introduced his new cabinet — comprising 15 women and 15 men, the first gender-balanced cabinet in Canada’s history.

When questioned on why gender parity in the cabinet was important to him, Trudeau said, simply, “Because it’s 2015”. Nor were equal numbers of women and men the only powerful symbol employed by Trudeau to demonstrate inclusiveness — the cabinet has four Sikh and two indigenous ministers. While introducing his cabinet — most of whom are under 50 — Trudeau said it was “important” that it “looks like Canada”, marking both generational change and a commitment to reflecting Canada’s diversity.

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But Trudeau’s move, while broadly welcomed, has attracted criticism from some quarters for privileging symbol over substance, implying that the women ministers he has picked are ill-suited to their new roles. As Green Party leader Elizabeth May pointed out in response to some of these arguments, no one questions “the merits of male ministers being appointed as the vast majority of cabinets”. Research suggests that more women in the cabinet can help forge consensus, and greater diversity also brings to the fore issues and policy concerns that might otherwise be ignored. India, which has only six women in its cabinet of 26, could certainly learn a thing or two from Trudeau.