The COVID-19 pandemic has overturned many of the gains won by Canadian women during the last few decades, leading to more than 16,000 women leaving their jobs. This isn’t just a recession – it’s a She-cession.

Budget 2021 furthers our plan to build back better with a feminist and intersectional lens, and help restore women’s full and equal participation in the Canadian workforce. We will do this by continuing to support women entrepreneurs, strengthening diversity in Canada’s corporate institutions, creating new opportunities for skilled tradespeople and moving forward with an affordable, high-quality national early leaning and childcare system which will allow more mothers to go back to work.

Since 2015, we’ve taken action to address the issues facing women and gender-diverse Canadians today, including addressing the gender pay gap, creating the new department for Women and Gender Equality, establishing a federal LGBTQ2 secretariat, and bringing diverse voices to the decision-making table when creating federal programs and policies.

As we rebuild from the pandemic, Budget 2021 proposes investments that will ensure an inclusive and feminist economic recovery that works for everyone, including:

  • Establishing an affordable, high-quality, Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care System, with a goal of reaching $10 per day on average by 2026, everywhere outside of Quebec;
  • Strengthening the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy;
  • Introducing measures that would adapt and apply diversity requirements to Crown corporations;
  • Establishing a new Apprenticeship Service, which will help skilled workers and especially young women start careers and find well-paying jobs;
  • Advancing a National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence; and
  • Supporting the Charitable and Non-Profit Sector, an industry where the majority of workers are women.

To learn more about Budget 2021: Click here.