ANITA Anand is the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Mélanie Joly, who moves to Industry.

Anand (MP for Oakville East, Ontario) served previously as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, President of the Treasury Board, Minister of National Defence, and Minister of Public Services and Procurement.

The other three South Asians in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet of 28 members announced on Tuesday are:

* Maninder Sidhu (MP for Brampton East, Ontario), Minister of International Trade;

* Shafqat Ali (MP for Brampton—Chinguacousy Park, Ontario), President of the Treasury Board; and

* Gary Anandasangaree (MP for Scarborough–Guildwood–Rouge Park, Ontario), Minister of Public Safety.

There are two South Asians among the 10 new secretaries of state that were also named:

* Ruby Sahota (MP for Brampton North—Caledon, Ontario), Combatting Crime; and

* Randeep Sarai (MP for Surrey Centre, B.C.), International Development.

Carney said: “Canada’s new Ministry is built to deliver the change Canadians want and deserve. Everyone is expected and empowered to show leadership – to bring new ideas, a clear focus, and decisive action to their work.”

François-Philippe Champagne retains the Finance portfolio. He will also be Revenue Minister.

Dominic LeBlanc will be President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy.

David McGuinty moves from Public Safety to National Defence.

Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson (M.P. for Vancouver Fraserview–South Burnaby, B.C.) is the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible Pacific Economic Development Canada.

Jill McNight, (MP for Delta, B.C.) is the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.

 

The new cabinet:

• Shafqat Ali (Brampton—Chinguacousy Park), President of the Treasury Board
• Rebecca Alty (Northwest Territories), Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
• Anita Anand (Oakville East), Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough–Guildwood–Rouge Park), Minister of Public Safety
• François-Philippe Champagne (Saint-Maurice—Champlain), Minister of Finance and National Revenue
• Rebecca Chartrand (Churchill–Keewatinook Aski), Minister of Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
• Julie Dabrusin (Toronto—Danforth), Minister of Environment and Climate Change
• Sean Fraser (Central Nova), Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• Chrystia Freeland (University–Rosedale), Minister of Transport and Internal Trade
• Steven Guilbeault (Laurier—Sainte-Marie), Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages)
• Mandy Gull-Masty (Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou), Minister of Indigenous Services
• Patty Hajdu (Thunder Bay—Superior North), Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
• Tim Hodgson (Markham–Thornhill), Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
• Mélanie Joly (Ahuntsic-Cartierville), Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
• Dominic LeBlanc (Beauséjour), President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy
• Joël Lightbound (Louis-Hébert), Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement
• Heath MacDonald (Malpeque), Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
• Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau), Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
• David McGuinty (Ottawa South), Minister of National Defence
• Jill McNight (Delta), Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
• Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West), Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
• Marjorie Michel (Papineau), Minister of Health
• Eleanor Olszewski (Edmonton Centre), Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada
• Gregor Robertson (Vancouver Fraserview–South Burnaby), Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible Pacific Economic Development Canada
• Maninder Sidhu (Brampton East), Minister of International Trade
• Evan Solomon (Toronto Centre), Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
• Joanne Thompson (St. John’s East), Minister of Fisheries
• Rechie Valdez (Mississauga—Streetsville), Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)

 

• CABINET

 

 

 

South Asian ministers and secretaries of state

 

ANITA ANAND

Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

Anita Anand was first elected as the MP for Oakville in 2019 and was re-elected in 2021. She served previously as Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, President of the Treasury Board, Minister of National Defence, and Minister of Public Services and Procurement. As Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Anita led contract negotiations to secure vaccines, personal protective equipment, and rapid tests for Canadians during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, as Minister of National Defence, she spearheaded initiatives to tackle sexual misconduct and bring about cultural change in the Canadian Armed Forces. She also led Canada’s efforts to provide military aid and personnel to train Ukrainian soldiers following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. As President of the Treasury Board, Anita spearheaded a government-wide spending review and worked to reduce red tape for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Her time at Transport Canada yielded Canada’s first-ever high-speed rail project and historic progress in eliminating interprovincial trade barriers. Anita is a scholar, lawyer, researcher, and mother of four children. Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, she moved to Ontario in 1985. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Studies from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University, and a Master of Laws from the University of Toronto. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1994. Anita and her husband, John, raised their four children in Oakville. In her Oakville community, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Lighthouse Foundation for Grieving Children, Oakville Hospital Foundation, and Oakville Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc.

 

 

MANINDER SIDHU

Minister of International Trade

 

Maninder Sidhu is a husband, father, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He has lived in Brampton since he was a child, and it is where he and his wife are raising children of their own. After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Maninder built a successful customs brokerage business. He is also the founder of The Kindness Movement Charity, which assists underprivileged school children and the less fortunate in India and here in Canada.  Sidhu served as parliamentary secretary to three different cabinet ministers since 2021. Most recently he was parliamentary secretary to the international trade and economic development minister from September 2023 to March 2025.

 

 

SHAFQAT ALI

President of the Treasury Board

 

Shafqat Ali was elected as the MP for Brampton Centre in 2021. Ali was an entrepreneur and realtor. Shafqat sat on the standing committees on environment and sustainable development and citizenship and immigration during the last Parliament. He has not been a minister or parliamentary secretary. Ali has volunteered with youth sports programs, organized cultural festivals, and spearheaded fundraising efforts for local hospitals, food banks, and numerous other charitable organizations.

 

 

GARY ANANDASANGAREE

Minister of Public Safety

 

Gary Anandasangaree has represented the riding of Scarborough − Rouge Park since 2014. He attended Osgoode Hall Law School, and was called to the bar of Ontario in 2006, and went on to manage his own firm in Scarborough. He has volunteered with many organizations in Scarborough. Gary is an internationally recognized human rights lawyer, having represented Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada at the United Nations Human Rights Council. He is a passionate defender of the right to education, having assisted hundreds of students with disciplinary proceedings at the school board and post secondary level. As Member of Parliament and a federal cabinet Minister, Gary helped to pass the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (C15), An Act Respecting Indigenous Languages (C91), and the repeal of Mandatory Minimum Penalties (C5). In 2019, he helped develop Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. Gary’s local accomplishments include the expansion and protection of the Rouge National Urban Park, support for local trails and ravines, expanding affordable housing in the area and supporting the Scarborough Subway Extension with federal investments of 2.26 billion dollars for the project. Gary came to Canada 40 years ago this year as a refugee, and was raised by his mother. He is a firm believer in the international rules-based order, human rights, refugee rights, and the need for reconciliation with Canada’s indigenous peoples. Gary is married to Harini, and they have two daughters, Bairavi and Sahanah.

 

 

RUBY SAHOTA

Secretary of State for Combatting Crime

 

Ruby Sahota was elected as MP for Brampton North in 2015. She was raised in Brampton as the daughter of working-class immigrants. An experienced attorney, Ruby has practiced in the areas of criminal law, litigation, and dispute resolution in the public and private sectors, handling a wide range of complex commercial litigation files at the national and international level. She has also served with the Organization for Women in International Trade, UNICEF, and Amnesty International. Ruby holds a combined Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Peace Studies from McMaster University, and a J.D. with a concentration in Litigation from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she was awarded the Blue Book Award in Immigration Law.

 

 

RANDEEP SARAI

Secretary of State for International Development

 

Randeep Sarai is a community leader, lawyer, and entrepreneur. He was first elected as the MP for Surrey-Centre in 2015. He was Parliamentary Secretary for Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. Randeep was born in Vancouver and raised in South Burnaby. He graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts and went on to complete his Bachelor of Laws at Queens’ University in Kingston, Ontario. He was a Founder and served as a Director of Virsa – Supporting Youth Strengthening Families Society and helped start the South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence. Since 2015, Randeep has helped bring funding for SFU Surrey’s new Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Energy campus, a Veteran Affairs Centre for Surrey veterans, and get Canada’s largest and most technologically advanced Forensic lab built in Surrey Centre. He has also helped secure the Surrey SkyTrain extension to Langley and successfully advocated for Canada’s newest Development Agency, PacificCan, to have its headquarters in Surrey Centre. In Ottawa Randeep has served most recently on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, as well as the Committee Chair for the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. In May 2022, Randeep’s Private Member’s Motion, M-44 was adopted with unanimous consent, which will expand pathways to permanent residency for temporary foreign workers. Randeep and his wife, Sarbjeet, live in Surrey. Their three children are attending university in BC.