Liberal Cabinet Minister Anita Anand on Saturday announced that she will not run in the party’s ongoing leadership contest to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She added that she will also not be seeking re-election as Member of Parliament for Oakville.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Transport and Internal Trade Minister Anita 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 of Oakville. I will continue to honourably serve as public office holder until the next election.”
Please see my statement. pic.twitter.com/UePgtYFUHJ
— Anita Anand (@AnitaAnandMP) January 11, 2025
She also thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for entrusting her with key cabinet portfolios. “I sincerly thank Prime Minister Trudeau for welcoming me on the Liberal team as a Member of Parliament and for entrusting me with key cabinet portfolios”, Indian-Origin Anand said.
Previously, during her time in the cabinet, Anand held other posts also. She has served as Public Services and Procurement minister, National Defence minister and Treasury Board president.
Anand was a law professor and served as a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, for more than 20 years, before holding public office. She said that she has decided to return to teaching, research and public policy analysis, following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down.
Her statement in the social media reads, “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 professional life of teaching, research and public policy analyses.”
Anita’s father was from Tamil Nadu and her mother was from Punjab. Both of them were doctors who immigrated to Canada.
Speaking of her origin, as reported by NDTV, she said, “During my first campaign, many people told me that a woman of Indian descent would not get elected in Oakville, Ontario. Yet, Oakville rallied behind me not once but twice since 2019, an honour that I will hold in my heart forever.”
