- Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Prime minister Carney announced the reshuffle almost two weeks after his Liberal Party won the federal elections in Canada
By: India Weekly
INDIAN-ORIGIN Canadian politicians Anita Anand and Maninder Sidhu have got important portfolios of foreign affairs and international trade respectively in the new cabinet announced by prime minister Mark Carney.
Carney announced the reshuffle on Tuesday (13) almost two weeks after his Liberal Party won the federal elections in Canada. He had replaced Justin Trudeau months ahead of the elections.
Carney met Trump in Washington last week but did not secure any removal of tariffs the president has imposed on Canadian exports.
“Our government will deliver its mandate for change with urgency and determination,” Carney told reporters.
“Our workers and businesses continue to face the unfair tariffs imposed by the United States. My government will fight for Canadians.”
Carney says Canada must spend billions to start shifting the economy’s focus away from the United States as well as end barriers to internal trade and cut public spending.
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
Anand was previously the minister of innovation, science and had earlier served as defence minister. She replaced Melanie Joly, who is now the minister of Industry.
“I am honored 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,” Anand, an MP from Oakville East, posted on X soon after taking oath.
The 58-year-old politician took the oath of office with her hand on Bhagavad Gita, a tradition she had followed in previous Cabinet appointments as well.
Sidhu, 41, also took to X after swearing-in and said, it is an “honor of a lifetime” to be appointed as Canada’s international trade minister.
He vowed to diversify trade, support Canadian businesses in reaching new global markets, and help create good-paying jobs across Canada.
“I’m proud to stand alongside my colleagues as we work together to build the fastest-growing economy in the G7,” he added in the post on X.
Sidhu’s appointment as the comes at a time when Canada is battling the Trump administration’s tariff war.
Anand, who was a front-runner in the race to be the next prime minister to replace Trudeau, had in January declared that she is backing out from the race and not seeking re-election. However, she had reversed the decision later saying, “Canada is facing a crucial moment in our nation’s history.”
Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, Anand moved to Ontario in 1985.
She was born on May 20, 1967, to Indian immigrant doctor parents, Saroj D Ram and SV Anand – who moved to Canada from India in the early 1960s.
Her mother is from Punjab, and her father is from Tamil Nadu.
Anand married John Knowlton, a Canadian lawyer and business executive, in 1995, and they live in Oakville with their four children. She has two sisters, Gita and Sonia.
The Canadian prime minister’s website mentions that Anand was first elected as a member of parliament for Oakville in 2019 and previously served as president of the Treasury Board, as minister of National Defence, and as minister of Public Services and Procurement.
According to Sidhu’s website, the entrepreneur has been an MP from Brampton East since 2019 and for over four years, he has also been a Parliamentary Secretary at Global Affairs Canada.
Carney cut the number of ministers to 29 from the 39 under predecessor Justin Trudeau, but kept some key players in their positions, such as Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Dominic LeBlanc, who is in charge of U.S. trade.
Carney abolished the position of labor minister and replaced it with a secretary of state for labor, a move the Teamsters union called deeply confusing and concerning.
“It suggests the Carney government is underestimating the scale of the challenges facing Canadian workers in the years ahead,” union spokesperson Christopher Monette said by email.
Among the secretaries – basically junior ministers – is Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development). He is a member of parliament from Surrey Centre.
In a post on X, Carney vowed to “create a new economic and security relationship with the United States” and build the strongest economy in the G7.
Soon after, Carney shared another post on X where he shared a photo of the new cabinet team members standing behind him.
