Meet Canada’s New Hindu Foreign Minister: Anita Anand’s Inspiring Journey from Nova Scotia to Global Stage

Anita Anand is a well-known name in Canadian politics. She has now been chosen as Canada’s new Foreign Minister in a big change made by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney became Prime Minister after replacing Justin Trudeau and won the election on April 28.

Half of the ministers in Canada’s Cabinet are women, and Anita Anand now holds one of the top jobs. She is of Indian origin and will take over the role from Mélanie Joly, who is now the Minister of Industry. Anita Anand took her oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita, a holy book in Hinduism, as she became the first Hindu woman to become Canada’s Foreign Minister. In the past too, when she joined the Canadian Cabinet, she took her oath using the Gita.

The Rise Of Anita Anand

Anita Anand was once considered a strong candidate to lead the Liberal Party and become Canada’s next Prime Minister after Justin Trudeau stepped down. But in January, she decided to step away from politics. She said she wouldn’t run for Parliament again and planned to return to her job in academics.

However, new Prime Minister Mark Carney convinced her to come back. She ran in last month’s election, won again, and is now back in the Cabinet as Canada’s new Foreign Minister. This new role could be her toughest yet, as Canada is facing tensions with the United States and has difficult relations with India. Still, Anand has experience in government and is ready for the challenge.

In December 2024, Anita Anand was made Canada’s Minister of Transport, a key job where she focused on improving the country’s roads, railways, and other transport systems. She worked on making transportation more efficient and eco-friendly, and tried to solve big problems like traffic in cities and climate change.

At the same time, she also served as President of the Treasury Board, where she promoted honesty in government spending and made sure public money was used responsibly. According to CNBCTV18, her move from the defence ministry to these roles caused some controversy.

Earlier, in 2021, Anand became Canada’s Minister of National Defence. It was a tough job that tested her leadership. She played a key role in helping Ukraine during its war with Russia by sending military support. She also worked hard to fix problems in the Canadian Armed Forces, especially around sexual misconduct, and pushed for a better, more respectful culture. Under her leadership, Canada bought new warships and aircraft to strengthen its military.

One of Anita Anand’s important achievements in Canada was bringing in reforms to deal with sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. She worked to change the military’s culture and rebuild trust in its leadership. Her efforts were praised by many. Before that, from November 2019 to October 2021, Anand worked as the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. This was during the Covid-19 pandemic, and she played a big role in helping Canada deal with the crisis. She was in charge of buying important medical supplies like vaccines, PPE kits, and rapid tests.

She also helped negotiate contracts to make sure Canada got what it needed on time. Her strong leadership during the pandemic was widely appreciated. According to Anand, by August 2021, Canada had the highest vaccination rate in the world. Anita Anand is known as a progressive leader in Canadian politics. She speaks strongly in support of gender equality, diversity, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice. She has also pushed for improvements in public health, defence, and infrastructure.

As a Hindu and a woman of Indian origin, Anand reflects the diversity of Canada’s political system and is an important voice for inclusion and fairness.

Anita Anand’s India Connection

Anita Anand was born on May 20, 1967, in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her full name is Anita Indira Anand. Her parents were doctors from India who moved to Canada in the early 1960s. At that time, there were very few South Asian families in the area.

Her father, SV Anand, was from Tamil Nadu and worked as a general surgeon. Her mother, Saroj, was from Punjab and worked as an anesthesiologist. Anita’s grandfather, VA Sundaram, was a freedom fighter who took part in India’s independence movement.

Anita has two sisters: Gita Anand, who is an employment lawyer. Sonia Anand, who is a doctor and medical researcher at McMaster University. Anita Anand says she was greatly inspired by her mother while growing up. “My mother was a strong role model who inspired me to serve not just my community, but my country too,” she says.

Anand has achieved many historic firsts in Canada:

• She is the first Hindu woman to become Canada’s Finance Minister.
• She was also the first Hindu woman elected as a Member of Parliament.
• And the first Hindu to become a Cabinet minister in the country.

Anita Anand’s life before politics

Anita Anand has a strong academic background. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Studies from Queen’s University in 1989. She then studied at Oxford University in the UK, where she got another Bachelor’s degree in Law (Jurisprudence) from Wadham College.

She went on to study law further and got her LLB (Bachelor of Laws) from Dalhousie University, and later completed her LLM (Master of Laws) from the University of Toronto. Before entering politics, Anita Anand was a well-known law professor. She taught at top universities, including Yale, Queen’s University, and Western University in Canada. She is an expert in financial regulation and corporate governance, which means she understands how companies and financial systems are run and managed.

Anita Anand’s life beyond politics

Anita Anand is married to John Knowlton, a Canadian lawyer and business executive. They met over 30 years ago while they were both working as young lawyers at a law firm in Toronto.

Their story started when Knowlton helped Anand with her car when it broke down. After that, he continued to support her — driving her home after late nights at work and even helping her move into her sister’s basement, according to a story in Maclean’s, a Canadian magazine.