Anita Anand, a professor of law at the University of Toronto, became the first-ever Hindu woman to be appointed a cabinet minister in Canada. As Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet on Wednesday, three more Indo-Canadian ministers, all Sikhs, found a place in the list. They were members of the previous government.
Anita Anand was elected to the House of Commons for the first time in the October federal elections. She was appointed the minister of public services and procurement.
The first-ever Hindu parliamentarian in Canada, Anita was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Her parents, both medical professionals, are from India. Her late mother Saroj Ram was from the Amritsar area in Punjab and her father SV Anand is from Tamil Nadu.
She is a legal academic, lawyer, researcher, and mother of four children. She was also the chairperson of the Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilisation. She also conducted research for the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the terrorist bombing of Air India Flight 182.
