There are young MPs, older MPs, MPs of different abilities, faiths, backgrounds, colours, ethnicities in Trudeau’s cabinet. Members of the First Nations tribes will see themselves in Jody Wilson-Raybould, the new Minister of Justice former refugees will see themselves in new Minister of Democractic Institutions, Maryam Monsef, who hails from Afghanistan fathers will see themselves in Jean-Yves Duclos, the new minister of Families, Children, and Social Development Canadians of Indian descent or of colour may see themselves in Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi.Ĭriteria for Canadian cabinet already means that there must be at least one minister from each of the country’s 10 provinces. Trudeau’s cabinet is also remarkable because, as he put it, it represents Canada. Meanwhile, the average female representation in national parliaments in the EU was 27.5% in that same year. In the Dáil, there is a paltry 16% female representation. That’s the highest it has ever been.Īccording to the CSO, women accounted for less than a fifth of members of local authorities in 2013. Here in Ireland, we have five women and 12 men in cabinet.
It’s a move which only serves to highlight the lack of women – and minorities – in other cabinets worldwide. Trudeau set out to fill his 30-strong cabinet with equal numbers of men and women, and succeeded.
Unlike Ireland, Canada now has equal numbers of men and women in cabinet, thanks to a young new Prime Minister, the Liberal Party’s Justin Trudeau, who’s showing that politics can change – if the people in power want it to. IF YOU WANT to live in a country where political power isn’t overwhelmingly controlled by one type of person, then move to Canada.