Justin Trudeau 3.0 cabinet unveiled—and Anita Anand replaces Harjit Sajjan as Canada's defence minister

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      One of Canada's longest-serving defence ministers has been shuffled out of this position in Justin Trudeau's new cabinet.

      Harjit Sajjan, former commanding officer of the B.C. Regiment and the three-term MP for Vancouver South, is now the minister of international development.

      Sajjan was the first Sikh to become defence minister but he's been dogged by ongoing sexual-abuse scandals in the upper reaches of the Canadian Armed Forces.

      The new defence minister is Anita Anand, a University of Toronto law professor on leave. She served as the minister of public services and procurement in the last Trudeau goverment.

      Anand is the first Hindu ever appointed to cabinet. Now, she's the first person with this religious background to become minister of national defence.

      Meanwhile, another high-profile Sikh member of the last cabinet, Bardish Chagger, is no longer one of Trudeau's ministers. There are only two Sikhs in Trudeau's cabinet—the other being Brampton-area MP Kamal Khera, who's the minister of seniors.

      There were four Sikhs in Trudeau's first cabinet: Sajjan, Chagger, Navdeep Bains, and Amarjit Sohi.

      This news will likely be welcomed in New Delhi as Anand has been associated in the past with the pro-India Canada India Foundation. Over the past year, the Narendra Modi-led, Hindutva-oriented government has tried to link protests by farmers to Sikh separatism, irritating many Canadian Sikhs.

      Trudeau has also appointed Mélanie Joly as minister of foreign affairs, replacing Marc Garneau, who is also no longer in cabinet.

      Meanwhile, North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson has been shuffled from environment and climate change to natural resources. Replacing him as the environment minister is Steven Guilbeault, who formerly oversaw Canadian Heritage.

      Pablo Rodriguez is the new minister of Canadian Heritage.

      Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray is the new minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. She was previously the minister of digital government.

      Jean-Yves Duclos is the new health minister, replacing Patty Hajdu. She's now the minister of Indigenous services. The politician who held that portfolio, Marc Miller, is now the minister of Crown-Indigenous relations.

      Carolyn Bennett has been named as the minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health.

      Canada has a new minister of citizenship, immigration and refugees: Sean Fraser.

      His precedessor, Marco Mendicino, is the minister of public safety. The former minister, Bill Blair, now oversees emergency preparedness.

      Here's the entire list of cabinet ministers:

      • Chrystia Freeland remains Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
      • Omar Alghabra remains Minister of Transport
      • Anita Anand becomes Minister of National Defence
      • Carolyn Bennett becomes Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
      • Marie-Claude Bibeau remains Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Bill Blair becomes President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness
      • Randy Boissonnault becomes Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
      • François-Philippe Champagne remains Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
      • Jean-Yves Duclos becomes Minister of Health
      • Mona Fortier becomes President of the Treasury Board
      • Sean Fraser becomes Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
      • Karina Gould becomes Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
      • Steven Guilbeault becomes Minister of Environment and Climate Change
      • Patty Hajdu becomes Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
      • Mark Holland becomes Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
      • Ahmed Hussen becomes Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
      • Gudie Hutchings becomes Minister of Rural Economic Development
      • Marci Ien becomes Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
      • Helena Jaczek becomes Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
      • Mélanie Joly becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs
      • Kamal Khera becomes Minister of Seniors
      • David Lametti remains Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
      • Dominic LeBlanc becomes Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities
      • Diane Lebouthillier remains Minister of National Revenue
      • Lawrence MacAulay remains Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
      • Marco E. L. Mendicino becomes Minister of Public Safety
      • Marc Miller becomes Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
      • Joyce Murray becomes Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
      • Mary Ng becomes Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development
      • Seamus O’Regan Jr. becomes Minister of Labour
      • Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
      • Carla Qualtrough remains Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
      • Pablo Rodriguez becomes Minister of Canadian Heritage and remains Quebec Lieutenant
      • Harjit S. Sajjan becomes Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
      • Pascale St-Onge becomes Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
      • Filomena Tassi becomes Minister of Public Services and Procurement
      • Dan Vandal becomes Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
      • Jonathan Wilkinson becomes Minister of Natural Resources

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