With the development, Anita Anand became the first Hindu woman to be appointed as Canada’s Foreign Minister.
Soon after the announcement, Anand took the oath with her hand placed on the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture.“I am honoured to be named Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. I look forward to working with Prime Minister Mark Carney and our team to build a safer, fairer world and deliver for Canadians,” she said.
I am honoured to be named Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. I look forward to working with Prime Minister Mark Carney and our team to build a safer, fairer world and deliver for Canadians. pic.twitter.com/NpPqyah9k3
— Anita Anand (@AnitaAnandMP) May 13, 2025
Who Is Anita Anand?
Anand, who was the transport minister and had earlier held the defence portfolio, said in January that she was leaving politics and returning to academia.
However, Carney persuaded her to return to the cabinet and take the foreign affairs portfolio after she was re-elected in last month’s election. She has also been a Member of Parliament for Oakville, Ontario. In Carney’s cabinet, one of Anand’s missions will be to pilot the reset of the almost ruptured ties with India that Carney signalled, while managing the delicate relations with President Donald Trump’s America.
According to some reports, Anand served at the Ministry of Public Services and Procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic, where she directed Canada’s vaccine acquisitions and health-related commodities.
In 2021, she became the Defence Minister and during her tenure, she oversaw Canada’s assistance to Ukraine in the war against Russia and addressed sexual misconduct amongst the Canadian Armed Forces. Her parents had been doctors in India, who migrated to Canada in the early 1960s, reports claim. Anand received first-class degrees from Dalhousie University, the University of Toronto, and Oxford University.
