Ottawa: Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney has made a major reshuffle in the cabinet on Tuesday and appointed Indian-origin Anita Anand as Foreign Minister. Anand was sworn in as Canada's new Foreign Minister on Tuesday (local time). She has replaced Melonie Jolie, who has been sent to the Ministry of Transport and Internal Trade. Anita Anand, a member of Canada's Liberal Party, took oath of office with her hand on the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita.
Task of improving relations with India
Prime Minister Carney has announced the newly elected cabinet, in which 28 people have been given place. This is much less than the 39 ministers of Trudeau's cabinet. Anand's mission as Foreign Minister will be to re-establish the almost broken relations with India during the tenure of former Prime Minister Trudeau. Along with this, he will also have to handle the delicate relations with the US administration led by Donald Trump.
After becoming a part of the cabinet, Anand wrote in a post on Instagram, "I am honored to be appointed as the Foreign Minister of Canada. I look forward to working with Prime Minister Mark Carney and our team to create a safe, fair world for Canadians and provide them better services." He has also shared the video of the swearing-in.
Who is Anita Anand?
Anita Anand, who has previously held positions like Defense Minister and Transport Minister of Canada, was born on 20 May 1967 in Kentville, Canada to an immigrant doctor family. Her parents moved to Canada from India in the early 1960s. Her mother was from Punjab, while father was from Tamil Nadu. She has two sisters Geeta and Sonia.
Canada's first Hindu minister
She earned an academic degree in political science and a Bachelor of Arts in jurisprudence from Ontario. She earned a bachelor's and master's degree in law from Dalhousie and Toronto Universities respectively. In 1995, Anand married Canadian lawyer and business executive John Knowlton. They have four children. In 2019, she became the first Hindu to join the Canadian federal cabinet.
Announced to quit politics
Anand said in January that she was leaving politics and returning to academia. But Carney persuaded her to return to the cabinet and take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after being re-elected in the 2025 federal election. She represents Oakville East Riding in the House of Commons.
