Canada: Anita Anand exits race for liberal leadership, will not seek re-election
Anand, the first Hindu to become a Cabinet Minister in Canada, was considered as a potential candidate for leadership but made it clear she is not seeking to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Toronto: Indo-Canadian Cabinet Minister Anita Indira Anand announced on Saturday that she will not be a participant in the race for the leadership of the ruling Liberal Party. In fact, she added she will not contest the next Federal elections, which are scheduled for October this year but may occur earlier.

Anand, the first Hindu to become a Cabinet Minister in Canada, was considered as a potential candidate for leadership but made it clear she is not seeking to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Anand said, “Today I am announcing that I will not be entering the race to become the next Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and will not be seeking re-election as the Member of Parliament for Oakville. I will continue to honourably execute my roles as a public office holder until the next election.”
Anand was a law professor at the University of Toronto before she was recruited to run in the 2019 Federal election and plans to return to her previous profession. “Now that the Prime Minister has made his decision to move to his next chapter, I have determined the time is right for me to do the same, and to return to my prior professional life of teaching, research and public policy analyses,” she remarked.
Anand, also the first women of Hindu heritage to be elected a member of the House of Commons, was appointed Minister of Public Services and Procurement in November 2019, and that turned out to be crucial portfolio months later with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic and the requirement for purchasing vaccine supplies for the country.
In 2021, she was made Minister of National Defence, and later became President of the Treasury Board. Last year, she was given the additional responsibility of the Transport department. On December 20, she was made Minister of Transport and Internal Trade.
“Back in 2019, I could never have imagined that such work would mean navigating supply chains to overcome a global pandemic, addressing sexual assault in the Canadian Armed Forces, ensuring military aid reached Ukraine, overseeing the Treasury Board Secretariat or reinforcing Canada’s transportation systems. While this chapter of my life has been challenging, it has been tremendously fulfilling to deliver results for Canadians by working collaboratively,” she said
Anand is the third current Cabinet member to announce they are not running for leadership of the party. Earlier, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had made that clear.
The leadership race will conclude on March 9, with the election of the new leader, who will assume charge as PM from Trudeau who, on January 6, announced his intent to resign once that process concluded.
Trudeau’s action was precipitated by the shock resignation of then Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on December 16. She is expected to be among the principal contenders for the leadership along with former Bank of Canada (and Bank of England) Governor Mark Carney. Candidates have till January 23 to enter the fray.
