Anita Anand Biography

Anita Anand is a famous Canadian Politician, Lawyer and Former Academic, who was born on May 20, 1967 in Kentville, Canada. Find Anita Anand age, husband, net worth, height, weight, education, career, family, images, biography & more updates. Get information about Anita Anand’s all key achievements or accomplishments, including professional and personal life detail.

Personal Profile About Anita Anand

Anita Indira Anand is a Canadian politician of Indian origin. She currently serves as Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs. She previously served as Canada's minister of national defense and minister of transport. In 2019, she was elected to Canada's House of Commons.

The Anita Anand biography shows that she was born in 1967 in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Before entering politics, she worked as a law professor at the University of Toronto. She conducted research on the regulation of financial markets, corporate governance, and shareholder rights.

Anita Anand Husband

Anita Anand husband is John Knowlton, a lawyer and business executive. The two met while articling at a Toronto law firm and married on January 7, 1995. They have lived in Oakville, Ontario, for over two decades.

Anita Anand Children

There are four Anita Anand children with her husband John. Their names have not been made public. The family has lived in Oakville, Ontario, since 2005.

Anita Anand Ethnicity

Anita Anand ethnicity is Tamilian and Punjabi. Her father, S.V. Anand, was Tamilian, and her mother, Saroj Ram, was Punjabi, from the Amritsar area in India. Both parents were physicians who moved from Nigeria to Kentville, Nova Scotia, in the early 1960s, where they raised their three daughters.

Anita Anand Religion

Anita Anand religion is Hinduism. She has taken her oath of office with her hand on the Bhagavad Gita at each of her cabinet appointments since 2019. In 2025, she became the first Hindu to serve as Canada's foreign minister, following her earlier distinction as the first Hindu woman elected to the Canadian Parliament.

Anita Anand Family

Anita Anand family includes her husband, John Knowlton, and their four children, based in Oakville, Ontario. Her parents immigrated to Nova Scotia from Nigeria in the early 1960s. Anita grew up in Kentville as one of very few South Indian families in the area. Her father once had the opportunity to meet Mahatma Gandhi.