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Anita Anand, Randeep Sarai and Ruby Sahota: The Indian-origin members in Mark Carney's Cabinet
Anita Anand took her oath of office as Canada's new foreign minister with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, a practice she has followed in her previous Cabinet roles. However, she is not the only Indian-origin leader in Prime Minister Mark Carney's new Cabinet. Others include Randeep Sarai, appointed Secretary of State for International Development; Maninder Sidhu, who will serve as Minister of International Trade; and Ruby Sahota, appointed Secretary of State for Combatting Crime read more
(Left to Right): Anita Anand, Randeep Sarai and Ruby Sahota. Image: AFP/X
Canadian politician Anita Anand took her oath of office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita, a practice she has followed during previous Cabinet roles too.
The Hindu leader has now been made Canada's new foreign minister as part of a major Cabinet shake-up by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
However, she is not the only leader of Indian origin in the new team.
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Brampton East MP Maninder Sidhu, Brampton North MP Ruby Sahota, and Surrey Centre MP Randeep Singh Sarai have also been given roles in the new Cabinet led by Mark Carney.
In this explainer, we look at who these leaders are and what portfolios they have been given.
Here's a look:
Anita Anand
Mark Carney, who took over from Justin Trudeau earlier this year and won the recent election, has named Anita Anand as Canada's new foreign minister , replacing Melanie Joly.
After taking her oath, Anand posted on X: 'I am honoured to be named Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs. I look forward to working with Prime Minister Mark Carney and our team to build a safer, fairer world and deliver for Canadians.'
WATCH | Anita Anand, of Indian origin, became Canada's Foreign Minister in the Mark Carney cabinet, taking her oath on the Bhagavad Gita.
This marks her as the first Hindu woman in the role
Source: AP #AnitaAnand #ForeignMinister #Canada #MarkCarneyCabinet pic.twitter.com/l5VnR87EjI — News18 (@CNNnews18) May 14, 2025
Anand is a Canadian lawyer, academic and politician. Over the years, she has held several key roles, including minister of defence, transport, and innovation, science and industry.
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She is also the first Hindu woman to become Canada's foreign minister.
Anand was born to Indian immigrant parents: her mother Saroj, a Tamil, and her father S V Anand, a Punjabi. Both were doctors. She grew up in Kentville, Nova Scotia
Her political journey began in 2019, when she was elected as the MP for Oakville, becoming the first Hindu woman to enter Canada's House of Commons.
Maninder Sidhu
Sidhu, who entered Parliament in 2019, has received his first Cabinet post as minister of international trade, a key role at a time of growing trade tensions with the United States.
The Brampton East MP had earlier served as parliamentary secretary to several ministers, including Dominic LeBlanc and Mary Ng.
Sidhu was born in Punjab and moved to Canada as a child. He was brought up in Brampton, which has a strong Punjabi community.
Sidhu is serving as the MP for Brampton East. X/@MSidhuLiberal
A business graduate from the University of Toronto, he worked in real estate and was active in community service before stepping into politics.
Since becoming an MP, Sidhu has spoken out in support of small businesses and pushed for more diverse trade ties, especially with India and the Indo-Pacific region.
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His Punjabi background and fluency in the language have helped him connect closely with Brampton's South Asian voters.
Ruby Sahota
Ruby Sahota, MP from Brampton North, has been appointed Secretary of State for Combatting Crime. In this role, she will assist the Minister of Public Safety.
Born in Toronto to Punjabi parents who moved from Punjab, Sahota's background has shaped her focus on community issues.
Congratulations, @rubysahotalib, on your appointment as Secretary of State (Combatting Crime). pic.twitter.com/Nzr9zXCrob — Liberal Party (@liberal_party) May 13, 2025
She studied law at the University of Saskatchewan and practised immigration and family law before entering public life.
First elected in 2015, Sahota became one of the first Indo-Canadian women in Parliament. She is known for her efforts on youth outreach and public safety, and has chaired the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
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Randeep Sarai
Randeep Sarai, MP for Surrey Centre, has served in Parliament since 2015, but this is his first time joining Cabinet.
He has been appointed Secretary of State for International Development, where he will help lead Canada's efforts in foreign aid and global cooperation.
I'm honoured to have been sworn in as Secretary of State for International Development. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/aBlpRh5Y1A — Randeep S. Sarai (@randeepssarai) May 13, 2025
Over the years, Sarai has served as parliamentary secretary for veterans affairs and chaired the House justice committee.
His involvement in the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration will add to his new responsibilities, which include managing development aid programmes in South Asia.
Indian-origin MPs in House of Commons
The 2025 Canadian federal election saw a record number of Indian-origin leaders enter Parliament, with 22 candidates of Indian descent winning seats in the House of Commons. In total, 65 Indian-origin candidates had contested the polls across different parties.
In the previous House of Commons, there were 17 MPs of Indian origin.
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Notably, Jagmeet Singh, born to Punjabi immigrants, stepped down as the New Democratic Party (NDP) leader after losing his Burnaby Central seat to Wade Chang of the Liberal Party.
How did other Indian-origin candidates fare?
In Edmonton Southeast, Liberal candidate Amarjeet Sohi lost to Conservative candidate Jagsharan Singh Mahal. Meanwhile, Liberal leader Sukh Dhaliwal held on to his Surrey Newton seat.
Jayesh Brahmbhatt of the People's Party was defeated in the Brampton-Chinguacousy Park constituency. In Brampton West, Liberal candidate Kamal Khera lost, while Conservative candidate Shuv Majumdar secured a win in Calgary Heritage. Also, Priti Obhrai Martin, representing the Liberal Party, was defeated in Calgary East.
Over 10 ministers from the previous Cabinet were not retained this time, including former defence minister Bill Blair. Women continue to make up half of the Cabinet, as was the case under Justin Trudeau.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the new Cabinet has been formed to bring the change Canadians are looking for. This is the Liberal Party's fourth term in power.
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