NDP statement on International Women’s Day 2025

NDP Critic for Women and Gender Equality, MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) made the following statement:

"Today is International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate the remarkable achievements in human rights, economic development, science, arts and culture, politics and more made by Canadian women and women worldwide. It’s also a day to renew our fight for the equal rights that all women deserve.

As feminists, we must continue the fight to end the gender discrimination and gender-based violence still far too common in Canada. We know that women, girls and gender-diverse people who are Indigenous, Black or people of colour continue to face disproportionate rates of violence.

We’ve also seen a disturbing rise in hate and violence targeting trans women and children, now being amplified across the world with the election of American President Donald Trump. Here, in Canada, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has echoed this same harmful rhetoric, punching down on trans women and kids to score political points. We stand with our trans sisters today and every day. There is no liberation for women without the liberation of trans women.

Reproductive rights are also under threat. We need to do more to protect universal health care, including the Charter Right to access safe, trauma-informed abortion care. The NDP has been unequivocal in our support for a women’s right to choose—and in making sure that right is accessible with resources, not just lip service. We must stand up against those who threaten that right and stand up for the liberty of women, girls, and gender-diverse people everywhere.

Despite the hardships we are facing, we’ve come together for real change. Because of the dedicated work of families, advocates, and survivors, we won federal funding for a Red Dress Alert pilot project in Manitoba. Together, we pushed through a parliamentary study on hate motivated violence targeting the 2SLGBTQI+ community. And just last month, we won $10 million for the Women’s Health Clinic to protect and expand reproductive health care in Manitoba.

We are in unprecedented times, facing a violent and vitriolic backlash from the far-right against the gains we’ve made for the liberty of women and 2SLGBTQAI+ people. In such times, it’s important to remember that the roots of our struggle are deeply interconnected and that together we can achieve human rights for all women, girls, and gender-diverse people."