Justin Trudeau promised in June that half of his Cabinet would be female if he was elected Canada's prime minister. On Wednesday, he was set to get the job and make good on the vow — bruising the egos of some experienced men who won't make it to the top tier of government.
Trudeau, 43, was to be sworn in and announce appointments to about 30 Cabinet portfolios. Among his ministers, normally chosen from members of parliament, could be former journalist Chrystia Freeland, 47, co-chair of his economic council; Melanie Joly, a 36-year-old lawyer and former candidate for mayor of Montreal; and Jody Wilson-Raybould, 44, an aboriginal lawyer from British Columbia.
"It's a message to Canadian women — and young women in particular — that this world is about you," said Jean Charest, the former premier of Quebec who put women in half of his provincial ministries in 2007. "You have to move beyond the old-boys network."