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Driving the trepidation is a blueprint for future spending at the Women and Gender Equality department. Earlier this year, it published its , which showed hundreds of millions of dollars in spending from past federal budgets is running out over the next two years. Unless the Carney Liberals devote more money, the department’s budget is slated to drop from $407.1 million in the current fiscal year, to $76.3 million in 2027-2028.聽

Erin Lee, executive director of Lanark County Interval House and Community Support, an organization in eastern Ontario that supports women and children impacted by domestic violence, helped plan a recent event to protest the possible cuts on Parliament Hill. Any loss of funding 鈥� with money running out for programs that include spending on Ottawa’s national plan to end gender-based violence 鈥� would impact legal and other support for women fleeing dangerous situations, and groups like Planned Parenthood, which receive funding to deliver sex education and abortion services, she said.聽

More than 180 women’s support and 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations also sent an to Carney on Wednesday, urging the government to maintain the current spending level at the Women and Gender Equality department.聽

“Our concerns are that there’s a threat to those programs, given the priorities of the government,” Lee said, referring to Carney’s frequent emphasis on faster construction of major projects and responding to the trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump.聽

“We stand to lose that support if we don’t amplify these voices and make sure they’re a priority,” she added.聽

In an emailed statement, Chris Zhou, a spokesperson for Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez denied there are cuts coming and said the drop in funding is because of “the anticipated expiry of certain time-limited program funding.” Zhou did not say whether future spending would make up for it, but that decisions about spending will be announced “in due course.”聽

“Minister Valdez is committed to continue working with the sector to advance the rights and opportunities of women and gender diverse Canadians,” Zhou said.聽

Spokespeople for Carney and Finance Minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne 鈥� who attended the Liberal women’s caucus as part of pre-budget deliberations on Wednesday, his office confirmed 鈥� did not respond to questions about the drop in funding and the priorities of their government.聽

According to two Liberal sources, concerns emerged in March, when Carney didn’t name a women and gender equality minister in his first cabinet (he named Valdez to the portfolio after the April 28 election). That initial decision, combined with the departmental plan indicating a drop in funding for the department, has “raised alarm bells” for some MPs in the women’s caucus, one insider told the Star.

A second source said they have heard from groups worried critical programs won’t be reinstated, and that Carney is facing pressure from women’s caucus to keep the money flowing.聽

“It was transformational for the federal government to get involved in that space ... so the women in this caucus don’t want to see that stopped,” the source said.聽

Other Liberal sources have downplayed the concern about funding, noting that the Nov. 4 budget 鈥� the first for Carney’s government 鈥� could still bring in money to prevent the steep spending decline for the department.聽

For Katherine Scott, director of gender equality and public policy at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, trepidation from outside government stems from聽the scale of spending restraint the government forecast earlier this year. In June, sources told the Star that almost all government departments were asked to find spending reductions worth a total of around $25 billion in annual savings within the next three years. That’s almost double the $13 billion within three years in savings promised in the 聽during the spring federal election, a target that prompted analysts like then-Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux to predict civil service job losses and cuts to government grants.聽

“Groups are rightly worried,” Scott said.

Some Liberal sources who have spoken to the Star in recent weeks have also described a shift from the proud and explicit feminism of the Trudeau government, and the Carney administration’s focus on fewer core priorities, like the trade war, fast-tracking new development projects, and bolstering the military.聽

“Undoubtedly there has been a shift,” said one former Liberal staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s much more corporate. It’s much more masculine.”

Vandana Kattar, a Trudeau adviser who also worked on Carney鈥檚 campaign, said Canadians should not expect the current prime minister to present himself the same way as his predecessor.

“Trudeau was like, ‘I’m a feminist. I’m this, I’m that.’ Whereas you won’t see Carney defining himself that way. He’s really just focused on giving good solutions for Canadians,鈥� Kattar said.

She pointed to Carney seeking counsel from women in senior positions, like former Privy Council Clerk Janice Charette, as well as his recent appointments of Ana Bail茫o and Dawn Farrell to lead new agencies for major projects and housing construction.

Curran Stikuts, director of advocacy at the 519, an agency supporting 2SLGBTQ+ communities in Toronto, said the programs running out of money were among the first-ever federal programs specifically designed for queer and trans communities. He said he was “encouraged” after meeting with Valdez last week, but still doesn’t know if funding to keep the programs going at current levels will come.聽

“The rubber will hit the road come budget time, and we want to see those words backed up with action,” he said.

With files from Tonda MacCharles