Kochi: Canada’s Transport Minister Anita Indira Anand is among the frontrunners for the post of Prime Minister which will become vacant after the exit of Justin Trudeau who has announced his decision to quit, media reports said.
With only two months left until the March 24 deadline for selecting a new leader, speculations are ripe as to who will replace Trudeau.
The 57-year-old Anand has been one of the key figures in the Liberal Party ever since she entered politics in 2019, the reports said.
Her late father Sundaram Vivek Anand was a general physician from Tamil Nadu while her late mother Saroj Daulat Ram was an anesthesiologist from Punjab. They migrated to Canada in the sixties.
Anita was born in Kentville in Nova Scotia and has two sisters, Gita and Sonia.
In 1995, Anand married a lawyer and business executive John Knowlton. They have four children. She has represented Oakville in the House of Commons since 2019.
Anand, who is a scholar, lawyer, and researcher, taught law at the University of Toronto. She also taught law at Yale Law School, Queen’s University, and Western University.
She did a commendable job during Covid-19 while serving as Minister of Public Services and Procurement. She became Canada’s Minister of Defence in 2021.
Despite facing a controversial cabinet shuffle that moved her to the Treasury Board, Anand remains one of the favourites in the cabinet.
Photo Credit: X
