Our newly designated prime minister has his first day in office Nov. 4, and with so many tasks ahead of him, Justin Trudeau's first move will be forming and announcing his new cabinet.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Trudeau said he would stick to his previous commitment of having a smaller cabinet with equal representation from men and women.
While this past federal election has seen more women, minorities and Indigenous politicians elected as MPs, Trudeau's gender-balanced cabinet would be considered a federal first. Previously, under the Conservative government, 12 women served as ministers out of a 39-member cabinet.
Gender equality is one bold move, but the 23rd prime minister has many other goals with women in focus.
One of the Liberal leader's biggest promises in his campaign was to launch a national inquiry into the missing and murdered indigenous women of Canada. With more than 1,200 unsolved cases, Trudeau's steps towards an immediate inquiry would tackle one of the country's biggest national disgraces.
Trudeau has also called himself a feminist in the past, tweeting, "I am a feminist. I’m proud to be a feminist" during his campaign. And in 2014, he was also quite vocal about his stance on abortion and policing women's bodies.
Earlier this summer, the leader also pitched two proposals focused on work-life balance and parental leave, promising Canadians access to benefits over a period of up to 18 months, the CBC notes, as well as potentially letting parents take longer leaves of up to 18 months combined with maternity benefits.
And while the rest of the world (and Canadians) may be swooning over our hot new PM, it will be interesting to see how he divides up his cabinet and which roles women end up with in particular.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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