Freeland'sresum is tailor-made to be finance minister, says former PM Campbell

Chrystia Freeland's appointment as finance minister breaks down another barrier for women in politics, says former prime minister Kim Campbell, who adds that one doesn't need to come from Bay Street to be successful in the portfolio.

Speaking to Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos Thursday, Campbellsaid she wasn't surprised by the appointment, and she's "delighted" by it.

Freeland was appointed Tuesday, after Bill Morneau's sudden resignation from cabinet Monday night amid the WE Charity controversy. He alsostepped down as the MP for Toronto Centre, and will now seek to lead theOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"It's one of those portfolios that for some reason or other people don't see women in ... there's no reason why women should not be ministers of finance," Campbell said. "We have this idea that unless you are wearing a three-piece suit and look like you come from the Bay Street that you shouldn't be a finance minister and that's completely wrong."

Some have questioned if Freeland has the background for the portfolio, given that she was a journalist before entering politics. When asked if that questioning is inherently sexist, Campbell said it isbecause the samecriteria are not applied to men.

"That is really how sexism operates," she said. "It's not giving people the benefit of the doubt establishing criteria that you wouldn't apply to men."

Watch the full interview with former Prime Minister Kim Campbell:

'No reason why women should not be ministers of finance' | Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell

4 years ago

Duration 11:56

Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell, who is Canada's first and only female prime minster, on Chrystia Freeland's appointment as Canada's first female finance minister.

She added that manyformer finance ministers, such as John Turner and Jean Chrtien, were lawyers, not businessmen.

"It's this whole sensethat, first of all, that business is a good preparation. It might be for some things. But in 2008 all sorts of very expensively-educated business people threw the world into financial crisis," she said."There's a lot more to making financial policy than simply understanding how business works."

Business journalism background

Campbell said Freeland has more than enough experience for the role, pointing to her work with the Financial Times as the Moscow bureau chief in the 1990s and her five years at the cabinet table, where she most notably negotiated the new NAFTA agreement as minister of foreign affairs. She also has a degreesfrom Harvard andOxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

"The principles of international finance, understanding the demands on business, these are all important things that go into making government policyno question about it," Campbellsaid, and there are different ways to get those skills.

"I think Chrystia Freeland has a bio, has aresum that's kind of tailor-made to be minister of finance," she said. "Only somebody thinking it is inappropriate because it's attached to a woman would not see that."

"It turns out that of the 18 men who proceeded me as prime minister, only eight had more cabinet experience than I had," she said.