Ottawa: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation after facing an increasing loss of support both within his party and in the country. Now Trudeau’s Liberal Party must find a new leader as he plans to stay on as prime minister until a new party leader is chosen.
As of now, several popular faces are in the row who could replace Trudeau. Among the race, an Indian-origin leader Anita Ananad who is currently the minister of transport in the Trudeau cabinet is in the race.
Who is Anita Anand?
Anita Anand has held several key positions throughout her career. First elected as the Member of Parliament for Oakville in 2019, she served as Minister of Public Services and Procurement from 2019 to 2021. She has also held roles as President of the Treasury Board and Minister of National Defence. During her tenure as Minister of National Defence, Anand implemented reforms to tackle sexual misconduct within the military. In September 2024, she was appointed Minister of Transport while continuing to serve as President of the Treasury Board.
Anita Anand: A Tamilian and Punjabi-origin leader
Her parents were both physicians. While her father’s family is from Chennai in Tamil Nadu, her mother was born in a small town in Punjab. Anand was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Oakville in 2019. She has previously served as Minister of Public Services and Procurement. She has worked as a scholar, lawyer, and researcher. Sharing the video on a social media platform in 2022.
Anand said she is proud to be grown in Tamilian as well as in Punjabi culture. “I am proud to be of both Tamil and Punjabi ancestry…I have grown up loving both of these cultures within the Indian diaspora,” Anand had said in the video. “So when I take that little story of my family and look across our country and (see) many many Canadians have a similar story to the one that I just told you, I feel a deep connection to our community,” she said.
Anand recalled how her parents met in Ireland where her mother was at a medical school and her father a doctor. “They got married in England and they lived in India and Nigeria before deciding to embark on a new adventure together and immigrate to North America. They had the idea that they may end up in the US, but the first stop that my father made on a reconnaissance trip was in Nova Scotia and he decided to stay there,” she said.
Later her mother and sisters, who were born in Nigeria, joined him and then she and her younger sister were born in Nova Scotia.
When will there be a new prime minister?
The Liberals need to elect a new leader before Parliament resumes on March 24 because all three opposition parties say they will bring down the Liberal government in a no-confidence vote at the first opportunity, which would trigger an election. The new leader might not be prime minister for long. A spring election would very likely favour the opposing Conservative Party.
Those who could run include Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly as well as former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. Tradition dictates that Carney, currently Chair of Brookfield Asset Management, would need to secure a seat in parliament in order to take office if he won the party leadership.
Ministers who are in a race
Another possible candidate is the new finance minister, Dominic LeBlanc. The former public safety minister, and a close friend of Trudeau, LeBlanc recently joined the prime minister at a dinner with US President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. LeBlanc was Trudeau’s babysitter when Trudeau was a child.
Many analysts say Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will form the next government. Poilievre, for years the party’s go-to attack dog, is a firebrand populist who blamed Canada’s cost of living crisis on Trudeau. The 45-year-old Poilievre is a career politician who attracted large crowds during his run for his party’s leadership. He has vowed to scrap a carbon tax and defund the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
(With inputs from agency)
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