Anita Anand

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For the British journalist, see Anita Anand (journalist).
The Honourable
Anita Anand
PC MP
Anita Anand (cropped).jpg
Minister of National Defence
Assumed office
October 26, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byHarjit Sajjan
Receiver General for Canada
Minister of Public Services and Procurement
In office
November 20, 2019 – October 26, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byCarla Qualtrough
Succeeded byFilomena Tassi
Member of Parliament
for Oakville
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byJohn Oliver
Personal details
Born
Indira Anita Anand[1]

1967 (age 53–54)[2]
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyLiberal
ResidenceOakville, Ontario
Alma materQueen's University (BA)
Wadham College, Oxford (BA)
Dalhousie University (LLB)
University of Toronto (LLM)
ProfessionLawyer, Politician

Anita Anand PC MP is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the minister of national defence since 2021. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as a member of the Liberal Party. Anand previously served as minister of public services and procurement from 2019 to 2021. She is the first Indian Canadian of a Hindu background to become a federal minister in Canada.[3][4]

Prior to her political career, Anand was a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law specializing in corporate governance and the regulation of capital markets.[5] She was previously the J.R. Kimber Chair in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance at the Faculty.[5] She was also a scholar-in-residence at the law firm Torys LLP.[6] As of October 2019, Anand was on leave from the Faculty[5] for the duration of her time as an elected official.

Early life and education[edit]

Anita Anand was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Her parents were both physicians; her mother Saroj D. Ram (now deceased) was an anesthesiologist, and her father S.V. (Andy) Anand was a general surgeon. Her father was from Tamil Nadu and her mother was from Punjab.[3] Anand has two sisters: Gita Anand, who is an employment lawyer in Toronto, and Sonia Anand, who is a medical doctor and researcher at McMaster University.

The family relocated to Ontario in 1985 and Anand and her husband John[7] raised their family in Oakville. The couple has four children.[8]

Anand holds four degrees: a bachelor of arts (honours) in political studies from Queen's University; a bachelor of arts (honours) in Jurisprudence from Wadham College, Oxford University; a bachelor of laws from Dalhousie University; and a master of laws from the University of Toronto. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1994.[7]

Anand has held academic positions at Yale, Queen's University and Western University. Before her election, Anand was a law professor at the University of Toronto.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Anand, her husband John, and four children have lived in Oakville, Ontario for 17 years.[10]

Over her 17 years in Oakville, Anand has served her local community in a number of ways. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Lighthouse for Grieving Children, the Oakville Hospital Foundation and Oakville Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc.[11][12] She was also the inaugural chair of the Ontario Securities Commission Investor Advisory Panel.[9]

Academic career[edit]

Anand is an expert in corporate governance, investor rights, and financial market regulation. Since her election, Anand has been on leave from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Anand began her legal career as an associate at Torys from 1994 to 1997 (with leave to pursue her master's degree), after articling at Torys from 1992–1993. She then pursued her teaching career by serving as assistant professor (adjunct) from 1997–1999 at the Faculty of Law of Western University.[5] In 1999, she became assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen's University, obtaining tenure and advancing to the rank of associate professor in 2003.[5] She received a U.S.-Canada Fulbright award in 2005[13] and attended Yale Law School as a visiting lecturer in Law (Fall 2005) teaching comparative corporate governance. She was also visiting Olin scholar in law and economics at Yale Law School (2005-2006).

She left Queen's University for the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto in 2006 where she was a full professor. She served as associate dean from 2007–2009. From 2010–2019, Anand also served as the academic director of the Centre for the Legal Profession, as well as for its Program on Ethics in Law and Business. At the time of her election, she was a senior fellow of Massey College, as well as being cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management as the director of policy and research at the Capital Markets Research Institute, and to the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.[5]

The Government of Canada web site provides the following additional background information:[7]

Minister Anand has completed extensive research on the regulation of financial markets, corporate governance, and shareholder rights, and has appeared regularly in the media to discuss these topics. In 2015, she was appointed to the Government of Ontario's Expert Committee to Consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives. She has conducted research for Ontario's Five-Year Review Committee, the federal Wise Person's Committee, and the Task Force to Modernize Securities Legislation in Canada.

On September 17, 2019 it was announced that Anand would receive the Yvan Allaire Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. The medal is bestowed annually for an outstanding contribution in governance of private and public organizations.[14][15] The Society stated that Anand's research "significantly altered global thinking about best practices for boards of directors, including the importance of diversity on boards".[16]

Political career[edit]

2019 federal election[edit]

On June 12, 2019, Anita Anand won the Liberal nomination for the riding of Oakville, Ontario, after the incumbent John Oliver announced that he would not run in the 2019 election.[11] She defeated former member of Provincial Parliament Kevin Flynn[17] and lawyer Tamur Shah for the nomination.[18] On October 21, 2019, Anand won the riding of Oakville with 30,265 votes.[19]

Anand was sworn in as the member of Parliament for Oakville on November 22, 2019 and represents Oakville in the House of Commons in the 43rd Canadian Parliament.

Minister of Public Services and Procurement[edit]

On November 20, 2019, Anand was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council and as procurement minister at Rideau Hall.[20]

COVID-19 response[edit]

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the federal government accelerated its procurement capabilities on an emergency basis to bulk buy personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies in order to rapidly equip the healthcare system. As procurement minister, in order to ensure reliable access to PPE in a hyper-competitive global market, Anand and her department pursued an aggressive procurement strategy, engaging multiple suppliers to ensure diversity in Canada’s supply chains.[21] A significant aspect of this strategy included the establishment of large-scale domestic production of medical supplies.[22]

The role of federal procurement also grew significantly during the pandemic to include rapid tests in addition to the reagents and swabs secured for laboratory-based testing to support the testing programs of provinces and territories.[23]

Beginning in the summer of 2020, Canada executed agreements for seven leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates,[24][25] as well as the supplies that are needed to package and administer those vaccines on behalf of the provinces and territories.[26] The federal government’s initial target was to receive a sufficient supply of vaccines to immunize all Canadians with two doses by September 30, 2021,[27] but they surpassed its target two months ahead of schedule, receiving a cumulative total of more than 66.4 million vaccines by the end of July 2021.[28]

Minister of National Defence[edit]

On October 26, 2021, Anand was sworn in as Minister of National Defence at Rideau Hall. She is only the second woman in Canadian history to take on the role of national defence minister, after former prime minister Kim Campbell in the 1990s.[29]

Electoral record[edit]

2021 Canadian federal election: Oakville
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Anita Anand 28,137 46.1 -0.2
Conservative Kerry Colborne 24,430 40.0 +0.9
New Democratic Jerome Adamo 5,373 8.8 +1.3
People's J.D. Meaney 1,970 3.2 +2.0
Green Oriana Knox 1,090 1.8 -3.9
Total valid votes 61,000 99.5
Total rejected ballots 330 0.5
Turnout 61,330 68.3
Eligible voters 89,757
Liberal hold Swing -0.6
Source: Elections Canada[30]
2019 Canadian federal election: Oakville
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Anita Anand 30,265 46.28 -3.11 $88,029.39
Conservative Terence Young 25,561 39.08 -3.41 $98,290.90
New Democratic Jerome Adamo 4,928 7.54 +1.62 none listed
Green James Elwick 3,704 5.66 +3.47 $7,355.08
People's JD Meaney 798 1.22 none listed
Christian Heritage Sushila Pereira 145 0.22 none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit 65,401 99.26
Total rejected ballots 487 0.74 +0.36
Turnout 65,888 72.94 -0.51
Eligible voters 90,334
Liberal hold Swing +0.15
Source: Elections Canada[31][32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Canadian Ministry (by order of precedence
  2. ^ Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF).
  3. ^ a b "Meet Anita Indira Anand, a law professor who became Canada's first Hindu minister". Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  4. ^ "Anita Anand first Hindu to be appointed cabinet minister in Canada". Hindustan Times. 2019-11-21. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Anita Anand | University of Toronto Faculty of Law". www.law.utoronto.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  6. ^ "Torys, Anita Anand Scholar-in-Residence".
  7. ^ a b c "The Honourable Anita Anand Minister of Public Services and Procurement". Government of Canada. 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Anita Anand". Liberal Party of Canada. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Newly elected MP Anita Anand brings a wealth of experience to public services portfolio". Toronto Star. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Anita Anand first Hindu to be appointed cabinet minister in Canada". 21 November 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Anita Anand, Oakville's Federal Liberal Candidate". Oakville News. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Our Board". www.grievingchildrenlighthouse.org. Archived from the original on 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  13. ^ "Fulbright Canada Database". Fulbright Canada. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  14. ^ "Three U of T faculty, PhD student honoured with Royal Society of Canada awards of excellence". University of Toronto News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  15. ^ "Press Release | 2019 Medal and Award Winners | The Royal Society of Canada". rsc-src.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  16. ^ "Newly elected MP Anita Anand brings a wealth of experience to public services portfolio". Toronto Star. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  17. ^ "'Honoured to win the support': The Oakville Liberal candidate has been chosen for federal election". InsideHalton.com. 2019-06-13. Archived from the original on 2019-06-15. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  18. ^ "Tamur For Oakville – Liberal". Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  19. ^ Canada, Elections. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". enr.elections.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  20. ^ Machan, Nolan (2019-11-20). "Public Services and Procurement Minister: Anita Anand". Oakville News. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  21. ^ Tumilty, Ryan (April 16, 2020). "COVID-19: Planning for 'every eventuality,' Canada is ordering all the protective gear it can". National Post.
  22. ^ "First batch of Canadian-made 3M N95 respirators: Manufactured and delivered".
  23. ^ https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/symptoms/testing/increased-supply.html)
  24. ^ "Federal government orders supplies to give two doses of COVID-19 vaccine when it's ready | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  25. ^ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada-idUSKCN2511RH)
  26. ^ "Canadian manufacturers, supply chain gearing up for distribution of future COVID-19 vaccine". Coronavirus. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  27. ^ Aiello, Rachel (2021-05-11). "PM says Canada will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for a 'one-dose summer'". CTVNews. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  28. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-vaccine-all-eligible-canadians-1.6118908; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/13/canada-anita-anand-covid-vaccine?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
  29. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cabinet-announcement-trudeau-1.6225121
  30. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  31. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  32. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved August 8, 2021.

External links[edit]

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29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Carla Qualtrough Minister of Public Services and Procurement
November 20, 2019 – October 26, 2021 		Filomena Tassi
Harjit Sajjan Minister of National Defence
October 26, 2021 – present 		Incumbent
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