Canadian PM Mark Carney's Cabinet has 2 Indian female MPs, one of them was born in Delhi

Indo-Canadian Anita Anand and Delhi-born Kamal Khera found their places in Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Cabinet, making them the one of the youngest women ever elected to the Canadian parliament. On Friday, former Canadian central bank governor and the new face of the Liberal Party Mark Carney sworn in as the 24th Prime Minister of Canada along with his brand new Cabinet.

Carney’s team comprises 13 men and 11 women and is much smaller than former PM Justin Trudeau’s 39-member Cabinet. 58-year-old Anand was appointed as the Minister of Information, Science and Innovation. Meanwhile, Khera, 36, became the Minister of Health. The two women are among the few retaining their ministerial posts, albeit with different portfolios, from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.

According to PTI, Kehra’s family shifted to Canada when she was still in school. The Delhi-born Canadian politician earned her Bachelor of Science degree from York University, Toronto. Interestingly, Anand was one of the front-runners in the race to be the next PM to replace Trudeau. However, in January, she announced that she was backing out and that she would not be up for re-election.

However, she changed her stance again on March 1, saying, “Canada is facing a crucial moment in our nation’s history.” Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, Anand moved to Ontario in 1985.

While Indians found their sport, Carney’s Cabinet had no one from Alberta

Another interesting fact about Carney’s Cabinet is that the new Canadian premier left Alberta out of his newly-appointed government. Many called out Carney’s snub.

“Cabinets do signal a prime minister’s intentions, and I don’t think Alberta was intentionally snubbed, but I think a lot of people will feel they were snubbed,” Colin Aitchison, western Canada director at Enterprise Canada and former staffer with the United Conservative Party told Global News.

“They’re focused on the GTA, they’re focused on Toronto, they’re focused on Quebec, and that could be the signal he’s sending — intentionally or unintentionally," Aitchison added. When asked about the exclusion, Carney said the lack of Alberta representation around the table is a result of a condensed cabinet.

“It’s a factor when you reduce things down, but I’m Prime Minister of all of Canada, of course, and I’m from the West,” Carney said. It is pertinent to note that Alberta has two Liberal MPs in the House of Commons: Edmonton-Centre’s Randy Boissonnault, who previously served in Trudeau Cabinet, and Calgary-Skyview’s George Chahal.

However, both have been involved in scandals for years, and many claim this to be the reason behind Carney’s decision.

“Randy Boissennault had been in cabinet, was removed from the cabinet because of claiming Indigenous status and getting company grants based on that,” said Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University. “George Chahal had video surfaced in the election campaign of him pulling flyers of the Conservatives, that hurt him," he added.

Carney defended his Cabinet, pointing to other picks’ birthplaces, rather than where their riding is. “Chrystia Freeland lives in Toronto, Chrystia Freeland is from the west, Chrystia Freeland is from Alberta,” the Prime Minister said. During the presser, the prime minister hinted that an election call would come before November, but many experts predict the writ will be dropped in the coming weeks.

With inputs from agencies.