Anita Anand becomes Canada's new foreign minister: Who is she?

Anita Anand is Canada's new Minister of Foreign Affairs. She is part of the new 38-member Cabinet under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. According to reports, she took her oath of office on Tuesday while placing her hand on the Bhagavad Gita.

Anita Anand replaced Mélanie Joly and became the first Hindu woman to be appointed as Canada’s foreign minister. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated Anand on her appointment.

Sharing a video of the oath-taking ceremony, Anita Anand posted on X, “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.”

Indian-origin Anita Anand's appointment as a Canadian minister came after India-Canada relations hit rock bottom in 2023.

Tensions escalated between India and Canada after the then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in Parliament in September 2023 that his government is "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on its soil.

India had dismissed these claims as “absurd and motivated”.

Anita Anand's previous roles

Previously, Anita Anand served as Canada's Minister of Defence, Minister of Transport, Minister of International Trade and head of the Treasury Board.

She had earlier thrown her hat in the race for the prime minister's post after Justin Trudeu decided to step down from the post. She later opted out of the race and said she “will continue to honourably execute my roles as a public office holder until the next election.”

Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, Anand moved to Ontario in 1985. Her mother is from Punjab, and her father is from Tamil Nadu. The Hindustan Times reported that she has two sisters, Gita and Sonia.

Anita Anand and her husband, John, raised their four children in Oakville, according to the information on the Canadian government's website.

Anita Anand holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Studies from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University, and a Master of Laws from the University of Toronto. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1994.