F.Word Feminist of the Week: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

A little over a month ago, Canadians elected a new prime minister that few outside their own country had heard of but that has since taken the world by storm, and with good reason. Though at first Justin Trudeau may have mostly made headlines because of his looks, his policies and political positions soon started getting more attention and it turns out that he is a proud, unabashed feminist, as this tweet shows:

I am a feminist. I’m proud to be a feminist. #upfordebate

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 21, 2015

He elaborated on the matter in a recent TV interview, saying:

“My mom raised me to be a feminist. My father raised me, he was a different generation but he raised me to respect and defend everyone’s rights, and I deeply grounded my own identity in that, and I am proud to say that I am a feminist.”

The fact that Trudeau self-identifies as a feminist is already a major milestone, since gender equality is rarely a priority for politicians, and few are those who openly talk about their stance on feminism.

But the reason we have picked Justin Trudeau as our feminist of the week is because he not only talks the talk but he also walks the walk. Last November it was announced that he appointed 15 women to his cabinet of 30, making it the first gender-equal ministerial team in Canada’s history.

When asked why, he simply answered: “Because it’s 2015″. Boom. What’s more, women were placed in key positions such as international trade and foreign affairs.

Trudeau has also publicly declared that he is pro-choice and that his party (the Liberal Party) is “unequivocal in its defence of women’s rights“. He added: “It is not for any government to legislate what a woman chooses to do with her body. And that is the bottom line.”

This is a bold move given that abortion remains a sensitive topic in most cultures and that even other progressive politicians are reluctant to make their positions clear on the issue, with Obama for example only going as far as saying that “we may not all agree about a woman’s right to choose“.

Now that we have explained why we think Justin Trudeau is an example to follow, here are ten fun facts about our first feminist of the week:

1. At 43, Trudeau is the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.

2. His election ended nearly a decade of Conservative rule in Canada.

3. He is the eldest son of one of Canada’s most famous leaders, the late Pierre Trudeau, and is the first child of a prime minister to follow their parent back into office.

4. He was born on Christmas day in 1971 while his father was in office.

5. Former US president Richard Nixon reportedly predicted he would become prime-minister during a state visit in Canada, when he raised a toast to then 4-month-old Justin and said: “Tonight we’ll dispense with the formalities. I’d like to toast the future prime minister of Canada: to Justin Pierre Trudeau”.

6. He worked as a French and math teacher in Vancouver before going into politics (in which he became more involved following his father’s death).

7. He won a charity boxing match for cancer research against Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau.

8. In 2011 he performed a partial striptease at a charity fundraiser for the Canadian Liver Foundation, raising $1,900. Video footage of the incident surfaced in 2013 and was used to discredit him in an attack campaign ad by the opposition party.

9. He starred in the 2007 TV miniseries The Great War, which was shown on Canadian television and documented the country’s participation in the First World War.

10. He has a large raven tattooed on his left arm, which gained widespread attention on social media after he was elected prime-minister.

Don’t forget to pick your next favourite feminist on #feministfriday and we will make sure to do the same!