Across Women's Lives

Gender equity is a big issue in Canada’s upcoming election, in part because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made feminism a cornerstone of his first campaign. Back then, when a reporter at a press conference asked him why, Trudeau replied simply: “Because it’s 2015.” It became an iconic moment for Canadian voters.In the following four years, Trudeau and his Liberal Party championed pay equity. They increased support for child care aid for low-income families, and Trudeau appointed a Cabinet that was half female.“I think that was an important step forward that was particularly significant to voters who care about equality in public life,” said Sylvia Bashevkin, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. “But I think that the Liberals have run up against the problem of setting a high bar, high expectations.”Related: In Québec, teachers return to school under new religious symbols banBecause, she said, Trudeau failed to meet those high expectations earlier this year when his government was rocked