Women’s organizations provide vital services in our communities, supporting women and girls to be financially secure, free from violence, and able to fully participate in all aspects of our economy and society.

“With our historic investment, we recognize the women and women’s organizations breaking through barriers and express our gratitude to those who have been doing this work for decades on little more than a shoestring budget. The women’s movement across Canada has been asking for a reliable, predictable and accessible source of funds to ensure the sustainability of their work. With stable and flexible funding, we are helping women’s organizations in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean grow and thrive, because we know that investing in women’s organizations is the most effective way to advance gender equality. By supporting a movement that has achieved amazing results, we are growing the middle class, strengthening families and communities, and creating lasting change that benefits everyone.”

The Honourable Maryam Monsef, P.C., M.P.
Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality

“I am proud that the Government of Canada is making strategic investments in women’s organizations in Québec. It is crucial that groups like Récif 02 have the resources they need to maintain the services that help advance the wellbeing of women in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. With today’s funding announcement, I think that families in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean have every reason to feel confident about what their future holds.”

Richard Hébert
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion
Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean

“We are very pleased to receive this financial support from the federal government. Expanding and strengthening our network is an ongoing process that brings positive change to the women we serve. This is an opportunity for our organization to engage in strategic planning to strengthen our collaborations and develop a more inclusive feminism to better represent women all women in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. Together, we will continue our collective efforts to help advance equality in our region.”

Martine Boivin, Project Manager
Récif 02, Table de concertation des groupes de femmes Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean

• Budget 2018 announced $100 million over five years to support a viable and sustainable women’s movement across Canada. Adding to this historic investment, Budget 2019 invests a further $160 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, in Women and Gender Equality Canada’s Women’s Program. This means that in 2023–24, the Women’s Program, which supports eligible organizations to carry out projects to advance equality by addressing systemic barriers, will total $100 million. 

• This funding will enable women’s organizations and Indigenous organizations serving women to tackle systemic barriers impeding women’s progress, while recognizing and addressing the diverse experiences of gender and inequality across the country.

Related products

• Backgrounder

Associated links

• Récif 02
• Capacity-building Fund

Braeson Holland
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality
343-549-8825

Valérie Haché
Senior Communications Advisor
Women and Gender Equality Canada
819-420-8684