Anita Anand

Anita Indira Anand (born 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the president of the Treasury Board since 2023. 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. From 2019 to 2021, she served as minister of public services and procurement. She oversaw Canada's procurement of vaccines and personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2021 to 2023, while serving as minister of national defence, Anand led Canada's efforts to provide military aid to Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sought to reform the culture in the Canadian Armed Forces following a series of sexual misconduct scandals, and made efforts to reform and strengthen Canada's military procurement of warships and airplanes, as well as re-establishing Canada's military status amid broad criticism. She is the first Hindu to become a federal minister in Canada. Early life and education Anita Indira Anand was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Her parents were both Indian physicians; her mother Saroj D. Ram (now deceased) was an anesthesiologist, and her father S.V. (Andy) Anand (now deceased) was a general surgeon. Her father was from Tamil Nadu and her mother was from Punjab. Anand has two sisters: Gita Anand, who is an employment lawyer in Toronto, and Sonia Anand, who is a physician and researcher at McMaster University. Anand relocated to Ontario in 1985. She and her husband, John, raised their family in Oakville. The couple has four children.