Anita Anand first Hindu to be appointed as cabinet minister in Canada

As Canada’s
prime minister Justin Trudeau revealed his new cabinet on Wednesday which
featured newcomer Anita Indira Anand, making her the first Hindu to be a
federal minister in the country.

The cabinet
includes three other Indo-Canadian ministers, all Sikhs, and each of whom was a
member of the previous government.

Anand, who
was elected to the House of Commons for the first time in the October federal
elections, was named the minister of public services and procurement.

Anand
emerged victorious from the riding of Oakville in Ontario, which in itself was
historic as she was the first-ever Hindu woman to be elected to Parliament.

Anand was
born in the town of Kentville in the province of Nova Scotia. Her parents are both
medical professionals from India. Her late mother Saroj Ram was from the
Amritsar area in Punjab and her father SV Anand is a Tamilian.

She also
conducted research for the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the
terrorist bombing of Air India Flight 182.

Anand is one
of the seven newcomers to the cabinet for the new Trudeau government. As in
2015 when he formed his first Cabinet, half the appointees now are women.

In a
statement released when the new Cabinet was announced, Trudeau said, “Today, I
can introduce the strong, diverse, and experienced team that will work together
to tackle the big issues that matter to people from coast to coast to coast.”