The minister for women and gender equality and youth () a

minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

and member of the

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

. The position is responsible for the

Department for Women and Gender Equality Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE; french: Femmes et Égalité des genres Canada (FEGC)), known as Status of Women Canada from 1976 to 2018, is a department of the Government of Canada. Previously an agency under the Department of Canadian H ...

and the youth portfolio is associated with the

Department of Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity ...

History

The position previously existed as Minister of Status of Women, responsible for what was then known as Status of Women Canada. Traditionally, the office that held the Status of Women portfolio under their purview, that minister has been designated the additional honorary title of Minister responsible for the Status of Women. The Status of Women portfolio was originally created in 1971 as a product of the

Royal Commission on the Status of Women The Royal Commission on the Status of Women was a Canadian Royal Commission that examined the status of women and recommended steps that might be taken by the federal government to ensure equal opportunities with men and women in all aspects of C ...

(created in 1967), who completed their report in 1970. The title of Minister for Women and Gender Equality was created in 2018, following the passage of the ''Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2'' and the creation of the Department fort Women and Gender Equality, separating Status of Women Canada from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Responsibility for youth issues was added to the portfolio in 2021, once again associating the office with the Department of Canadian Heritage.

List of ministers

History

The "status of women" portfolio was originally created in 1971 as result of the

(created in 1967), who completed their report in 1970. This new position, originally titled the Office of the Co-ordinator, Status of Women, was initially meant to help implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission. During the 1993–2003 ministry of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

, the position was titled Secretary of State (Status of Women), as it did not carry full

cabinet rank The ministerial ranking, Cabinet ranking, order of precedence in Cabinet or order of precedence of ministers is the "pecking order" or relative importance of senior ministers in the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government. Use The mi ...

. The first cabinet of

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

also kept this title, as the office's responsibilities were delegated from the

Minister of Canadian Heritage The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the minister of the Crown who heads Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for culture, media, sports, and the arts. History The ...

. However, in July 2004, the title reverted to Minister responsible for the Status of Women with the swearing-in of

Liza Frulla Liza Frulla (born March 30, 1949, in Montreal, Quebec), formerly known as Liza Frulla-Hébert, is a former Canadian politician. She was a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1989 to 1998, a Liberal Member of Parliament from 20 ...

, who doubled as Heritage Minister and was thus ultimately responsible for

Status of Women Canada Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE; french: Femmes et Égalité des genres Canada (FEGC)), known as Status of Women Canada from 1976 to 2018, is a department of the Government of Canada. Previously an agency under the Department of Canadian ...

. In 2016, the position was made a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. In 2018, following the passage of the ''Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2'', Status of Women Canada became a federal department called the

Women and Gender Equality Canada Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE; french: Femmes et Égalité des genres Canada (FEGC)), known as Status of Women Canada from 1976 to 2018, is a department of the Government of Canada. Previously an agency under the Department of Canadian ...

(WAGE). WAGE administers the

Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

. One of the programs started by the Status of Women Canada was an education/analysis program called

gender-based Analysis Plus Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) is an analytical process created by the Status of Women Canada to analyze the "gendered" aspects of Canadian government policy to assess the different experiences of women, men and non-binary people to policies, pro ...

(GBA+).

References

External links

Status of Women Canada
presently being renamed to Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE)
CBC Digital Archives - Equality First: The Royal Commission on the Status of Women
Status of Women Department of Canadian Heritage Canada, Women_and_Gender_Equality Minister Women's organizations based in Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Women's rights in Canada {{canada-gov-stub