Indian-origin Anita Ananda might replace Justin Trudeau as Canadian PM

Facing rising dissent against him, Justin Trudeau Monday resigned as the leader of his Liberal Party of Canada which will effectively end his nine-year-long tenure as the country's Prime Minister.

He will continue as Canada's Prime Minister until the party picks his successor, which has to be done by March 24.

Besides Anand, others running in the race for the post are Dominic LeBlanc, Chrystia Freeland, Melanie Joly, Francois-Philippe Champagne, and Mark Carney.

Who is Anita Anand?

Anita Anand is a senior member of the Liberal Party of Canada and has been a member of parliament since 2019 holding several key portfolios, including Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Minister of National Defence, and President of the Treasury Board.

She has been the Transport and Internal Trade Minister since 2024.

Born on May 20, 1967, in Kentville, Nova Scotia to doctor parents Saroj D Ram and SV Anand, who moved to Canada from India in the early 1960s, Anand and her family had humble beginnings.

Anita Anand has two sisters, Gita and Sonia. In 1985, she moved to Ontario when she was 18 to pursue an academic degree in political science.

She then completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and followed that up with a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in law from Dalhousie University and University of Toronto respectively.

During the initial stages of her professional life, Anand took up various teaching assignments, including at the renowned Yale Law School.

During her stint as a law professor at the University of Toronto, she held the JR Kimber Chair in investor protection and corporate governance.

She later became the Associate Dean of the University of Toronto as well as the Director of Policy and Research at the Capital Markets Institute at the Rotman School of Management.