After a short election period this spring, Canada has a new government.
Although the Liberal Party has been re-elected with another minority government, Parliament will look quite different as it reconvenes.
A still quite new Prime Minister and new ministers in key roles such as Foreign Affairs (Anita Anand), Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (Lena Metlege Diab), and Defence (David McGuinty), amongst others, will undoubtedly bring a new approach to the critical situations currently facing Canada and the world.
WPSN-C first ran a #WPSAdvice blog series during and immediately after the fall 2019 federal election. That series offered reflections on humanitarian policy, Canadian arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the role of grassroots women’s organizations in peacebuilding, humanitarian disarmament, women in the Canadian military, and other areas.
That series ended in December 2019, just as the global pandemic was beginning.
So much has happened since then to reshape the way we see and experience the world, including the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere and the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States.
But 2025 also marks the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325, the first United Nations Security Council resolution on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).
Canada’s third National Action Plan (NAP) on WPS, Foundations for Peace, was launched last year and now includes ten federal partners, coordinated by Global Affairs Canada. We currently await the imminent tabling in Parliament of the first progress report.
In 2022, WPSN-C, with funding from Global Affairs Canada, held a series of dialogues to inform the development of Foundations for Peace, WPS Dialogue FPS. These, coupled with the WPSN-C working group for the development of the third NAP, engaged in a multi-year process for the eventual launch of the Plan.
This spring also saw the end of Jacqueline O’Neill’s term as Canada’s inaugural Ambassador for WPS. The position is currently empty, and we await a new appointment. During the 2025 election period, an open letter to the leaders of the major federal parties, written and signed by members and allies of Canada’s WPS community, asked the parties to commit to prioritizing an appointment.
In the following weeks as we launch another edition of our #WPSAdvice blog series, we’ll hear from WPSN-C members as they reflect on the current political situation in Canada, the state of WPS within the federal government, and the range of current global challenges, offering their analysis and advice to the incoming government.
Blog posts from Network members will consider opportunities for YPS-WPS synergies in Canada, the current situations in Sudan and Yemen, funding for Women’s Rights Organizations (WRO) in conflict-affected contexts, the WPS agenda in the Asia-Pacific region,and an update on women in the Canadian military, among other areas.
We hope this series provides readers, including government decision makers, with much to consider as we navigate this uncertain future.
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