University of Toronto Law professor Anita Anand was sworn into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet on November 20.
Anand was elected as a member of parliament (MP), representing the riding of Oakville this past election, and is now making strides on the national stage to serve as the minister for public services and procurement.
The public services and procurement ministry oversees the internal servicing and administration of federal departments and agencies. The minister’s role is to be the central purchasing agent, property management, treasurer, accountant, and pay and pension administrator, among others.
Anand has been teaching at U of T Law since 2006, and more recently she also held a chair position in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance. She also served as associate dean for the Faculty of Law between 2007 and 2009, and in 2010 was appointed academic director of the Centre for the Legal Profession and its program, Ethics in Law and Business.
Anand is also cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Anand has completed her degrees at some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including the University of Oxford and U of T.
On the Mostly Money podcast with Preet Banerjee in 2017, Anand describes her journey to being a professor of Law at U of T as being “quite a hike, to move to Kingston from rural Nova Scotia. Then I went to my first law degree at Oxford. After that I came back to Dalhousie and U of T before starting my articles.”
After her first law degree at Oxford, Anand subsequently obtained her LL.B. from Dalhousie and her LL.M. from U of T. She has an extensive teaching portfolio, holding positions in multiple universities across Ontario including U of T, Queen’s University, Western University, as well as Yale Law School.
Over her 25-year career in securities law and teaching, Anand has carved herself a solid place in the industry and is regarded as an expert with a strong grasp on the subject.
Being a visible minority of South Asian descent, Anand is the first Hindu to be a federal minister. She has previously served as chairperson of the Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilization and has also helped conduct research on the bombing of Air India Flight 182.
Her appointment is a mark of victory for diversity in federal government as well as another achievement for U of T alumni and faculty.
