- Thursday, January 09, 2025
The ruling Liberal Party has not released details on the leadership contest, but there are quite a few names that are doing rounds
By: shajil kumar
WITH Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau announcing on Monday that he will be stepping down, the ruling Liberal Party is looking for a new leader to replace him.
The party has not released details on the leadership contest, but there are quite a few names that are doing rounds.
One of them is Anita Anand, an 57-year-old Indian-origin politician who is currently the minister of transport and internal trade.
Other possible contenders mentioned in the domestic media include current natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson (59), foreign minister Melanie Joy (45), House leader Karina Gould (37), former deputy prime minister Christia Freeland (56), and former British Columbia premier Christy Clark, 59.
Anita is a former law professor who entered parliament in November 2019 and became procurement minister.
When the COVID pandemic struck in 2020 she led the effort to obtain supplies of personal protective equipment and tests at a time of enormous demand, and also pushed for vaccine deals.
The endeavour was largely successful and in October 2021 Trudeau named her to the more high-profile role of defence minister, charged with trying to stamp out a culture in the military of what the government has acknowledged is sexual abuse.
In July 2023 she was named head of the Treasury Board, which has overall control of government spending, and in September 2024 was also asked to be transport minister after her predecessor quit. Last month she was named minister of transport on a permanent basis.
Anita was born on May 20, 1967 in Kentville, Nova Scotia to Tamil-Punjabi doctor parents Saroj D Ram and SV Anand, who moved to Canada from India in the early 1960s.
She has two sisters, Gita and Sonia.
Anita is a political science graduate, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. She later also completed her bachelors and a masters degree in law from Dalhousie University and University of Toronto respectively.
Anita has been a strong advocate of inclusiveness and gender equality. She has actively spoken in favour of LGBTQIA+ rights and supported the outlook for diversity in Canada.
