Canada

The life of a politician isn’t easy — even less so if you’re the leader of a party and a woman, says Quebec Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade.

In politics, women are judged more harshly in many respects, she says. They feel the pressure to be perfect at all times and must constantly prove themselves, with little room for anger or mistakes.

Alexa McDonough, whose leadership of the Nova Scotia NDP in 1980 made her the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada, has died at the age of 77.

McDonough, who also became the leader of the federal New Democratic Party in 1995, died at a care home in Halifax on Saturday after a lengthy struggle with Alzheimer's disease, her family said.

Maintaining that he intends to lead his party into the next election, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday overhauled his gender balanced cabinet, naming women to the foreign affairs and defense posts.

Trudeau named Mélanie Joly as foreign minister and Anita Anand as defense minister. Chrystia Freeland retains her positions as deputy prime minister and finance minister.

It's no coincidence that a wave of Indigenous women have won leadership roles previously held only by men, say leaders and advocates.