Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says women's rights and women's progress is under attack, pointing to the recent defeat of U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris as an example.

Speaking on Tuesday night at an event hosted by the Equal Voice Foundation — an organization dedicated to improving gender representation in Canadian politics — Trudeau said there are regressive forces fighting against women's progress. "It shouldn't be that way. It wasn't supposed to be that way. We were supposed to be on a steady, if difficult sometimes, march towards progress," Trudeau said, adding he is a proud feminist and will always be an ally. "And yet, just a few weeks ago, the United States voted for a second time to not elect its first woman president. Everywhere, women's rights and women's progress is under attack. Overtly, and subtly."

Trudeau's comments come a day before he's set to meet provincial and territorial premiers to discuss Canada's approach to negotiations with the U.S., as Canada faces a threat of a 25 per cent tariff hike from incoming president Donald Trump. The remarks also come hours after Trump taunted Trudeau on social media, referring to the prime minister as the "Governor ... of the Great State of Canada."