Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has reorganized his cabinet with a firm call for change, appointing Anita Anand as the new Foreign Minister—a significant appointment as his government sets out on a "mandate for change."
Anand, a former transport and defence minister, is coming back to frontline politics after she declared in early this year that she would retire from public life to return to academia. Her return was triggered by Carney, who called her to take the vital foreign affairs portfolio after she was re-elected in last month's general elections.
Among Anand's highest priorities will be guiding a reset of Canada's troubled relationship with India, a mission heralded by Carney himself. She will also need to navigate the frequently tricky diplomatic waters with the United States under President Donald Trump.
Carney unveiled a streamlined ministry of 28 ministers, a major cut from the 39 under his predecessor Justin Trudeau. In doing so, he told his team to "bring new ideas, a clear focus and decisive actions to their work."
The new ministry features Maninder Sidhu as Secretary of International Trade and two other ministers of Indian descent acting as secretaries of state, a rank that is junior ministerial. Randeep Sarai will be responsible for international development, while Ruby Sahota, previously Minister of Democratic Institutions, was demoted to Secretary of State responsible for fighting crime.
The diplomatic reshuffle follows a bumpy period in Indo-Canadian relations. Anand is taking the place of Mélanie Joly, now minister of transport and internal trade. Last year's diplomatic crisis, in which she had expelled six Indian diplomats, was orchestrated by Joly, she had alleged their role in the assassination of Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has firmly denied involvement in the murder, also attributed to criminal gang activity, and retaliated by expelling Canadian diplomats.
Carney, looking to put this era of acrimony behind him, was keen to emphasize prior to the election that relations with India are "incredibly important," saying, "there is a path forward to deal with those with mutual respect and to build out."
The deterioration in relations mainly happened during the former Trudeau administration, which was depending on Jagmeet Singh's New Democratic Party—a politician who has traditionally been seen as having sympathies towards Khalistan—to maintain parliamentary support.
At the same time, Dominic LeBlanc has been given the Canada–US trade portfolio with high stakes, as tensions continue over tariffs. Chrystia Freeland, who had been Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister—and had contested Carney for Liberal Party leadership—has moved into the industry ministry now.
Carney's shake-up is a distinct departure from Trudeau's style. A few of the Indian origin members who played critical roles in the last government are not included in the new administration. Harjit Singh Sajjan, one of the former ministers of defence and now the latest to serve as an emergency preparedness minister, did not stand in the election and retired from politics. Arif Virani, a former Justice Minister and Attorney-General, and Kamal Khera, who had been in charge of diversity and inclusion for people with disabilities, were both ousted from the cabinet.
Having a smaller cabinet of ministers and a renewal agenda at hand, Carney now has a solid chance to define his government on his own terms following his party's surprise election win.
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