DM-A/CDS Message: Welcome to the Minister and Associate Minister of National Defence

October 27, 2021 -  Defence Stories

Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of the Honourable Anita Anand as the Minister of National Defence.

Minister Anand (Oakville) was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Oakville in 2019. She has previously served as Minister of Public Services and Procurement. Minister Anand has worked as a scholar, lawyer, and researcher. She has been a legal academic, including as a Professor of Law at the University of Toronto, Yale Law School, Queen’s University, and Western University.

In addition, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay (Cardigan), continues in his role as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Associate Minister of National Defence.

Please join us in warmly welcoming Minister Anand to the Defence Team, with congratulations on her appointment.

Your support during this time is invaluable. We must all contribute to ensuring a seamless transition that helps us continue to serve Canadians, while enhancing our culture and continuing to build a stronger, more agile military. That work includes continuing to push to deliver Strong, Secure, Engaged, and the heavy lifting necessary to realize Canada’s much-needed NORAD modernization.

While we recognize that this has been a challenging period at our department, we still have a great deal of which we can be proud. As a Defence Team, we are doing tremendous good at home and abroad to serve our communities, our country, and to support our Allies and partners.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank former Minister Harjit Sajjan for his leadership over the last six years and congratulate him as he takes on his new role as Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada.