Canada’s first Filipina minister makes debut visit to NWT

Canada’s minister of women and gender equality recently visited the Northwest Territories for the first time to advance work to end gender-based violence.

Rechie Valdez co-chaired the 43rd annual meeting of ministers responsible for the status of women from across Canada in Yellowknife earlier this week, alongside Lucy Kuptana, the NWT’s minister responsible for the status of women.

Valdez told Cabin Radio the meeting focused on shared priorities including ending gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, and advocating for and empowering Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBT+ people.

On the first day of the forum, Valdez said, ministers met with Indigenous leaders and representatives and heard about their concerns with the impacts of gender-based violence on Indigenous women and girls.

“A lot of the feedback, their personal testimony they shared, their stories, their lived experiences, really helped us understand how much we need to invest in the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence,” she said.

The federal government, in 2024, committed $16 million in funding over four years to the NWT to implement the action plan.

“It helps amazing organizations on the ground like the women’s shelter network, for example. They’re on the front lines supporting women and girls who are fleeing from domestic violence, giving them shelter, giving them support,” Valdez said.

“Minister Kuptana and myself and other northern ministers, we talked about how much we need to continue to work together to support them.”

The impact of AI on gender-based violence

Another topic discussed at the meeting was artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, and its impact on online harassment and gender-based violence.

“There’s a lot of vulnerabilities to new technology and it really has a negative impact, especially on women and girls,” Valdez said.

“Being a politician, we are in the public eye. So many of us shared our stories about the online hate that we get. And, unfortunately with AI, there’s technologies like deep fakes and many different ways that women and girls can be targeted.”

Valdez said ministers want to ensure that data collected through AI represents women and girls and that policies are put in place to protect people online.

Next year’s meeting of ministers responsible for the status of women is set to take place in New Brunswick.

Canada’s first Filipina minister

Valdez told Cabin Radio this was her first time visiting the NWT.

“It’s absolutely beautiful here,” she said. “I look forward to making sure to come back again.”

Beyond the ministers meeting, Valdez said she joined NWT MP and fellow cabinet member Rebecca Alty at the Yellowknife Farmers Market and met members of the city’s Filipino community.

Valdez became Canada’s first Filipina member of Parliament when she was elected in 2021, and became Canada’s first Filipina federal minister during a cabinet shuffle under Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in 2023.

“It’s a true honour,” she told Cabin Radio.

“There’s one million Filipino-Canadians across this beautiful country and it’s really great that I not only get to advocate for my constituency of Mississauga-Streetsville but also advocate for the needs of the Filipino-Canadian community.”

Rey Pagtakhan became Canada’s first Filipino member of Parliament in 1988 and was a cabinet minister under the Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin governments.

From banking to baking then public office

Valdez said her path to politics was not a traditional one.

She spent 15 years working in corporate banking before she changed her career path after making a cake for her daughter’s first birthday.

“I tell you that first birthday cake really introduced me to something I didn’t even know existed inside of me, which was my creative passion,” she said. “Like many entrepreneurs who kind-of get that initial spark, that cake was my spark to discover so much of who I am and I just kind-of became obsessed with baking.”

Valdez went on to own a baking business and even competed on The Big Bake on Food Network Canada.

She said her experience as a small business owner, in turn, helped her realize her passion for serving the community.

“Ultimately that’s what led me to run for public office, to be able to represent many different voices – whether that’s a corporate banker, a mother of two, small business entrepreneur, Filipino woman,” she said. “I feel like that’s the unique thing that we have about this beautiful country, that we can represent for our different and diverse communities.”

Internal trade and nation-building projects

Beyond serving as the minister of women and gender diversity, Valdez is also secretary of state for small business and tourism.

She highlighted the One Canadian Economy Act, which Parliament passed in June, among efforts the federal government is taking to support Canada’s economy.

The act aims to remove internal barriers to trade among provinces and territories as well as expedite nation-building projects.

“Our new government’s focus is really ensuring we have one strong Canadian economy, not 13,” Valdez said.

She added that investing in large, national infrastructure projects will create jobs and support businesses.

“What I love about this is we get to support Canadian steel, aluminum and really create jobs that we vitally need in this country,” she said, adding that the prime minister is meeting with premiers to determine which projects will move forward.

“We need to have consensus around the projects that we choose.”

The legislation has raised some concerns that it could allow projects deemed to be in the national interest to bypass Indigenous rights and environmental regulations.

Valdez said that the federal government is committed to consulting with Indigenous communities and meeting climate action goals.

“We need to make sure we’re taking care of our planet and fighting against climate change, even though we’re making these large investments across the country,” she said.

Correction: July 14, 2025 – 12:14 MT. This article initially stated that Rechie Valdez was Canada’s first Filipino federal minister. In fact, she is Canada’s first Filipina member of Parliament and member of cabinet. Rey Pagtakhan was Canada’s first Filipino MP and minister.