Kumar Bahukhandi
Candidate for PM post of Canada – Anita Anand and George Chahal-Photo credit Google
After the resignation of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who will be the contender for the post of the next full-time Prime Minister? Apart from Canadian-origin leaders, two Indian-origin MPs are also included in this race. The first name among these Indian-origin MPs is of Anita Anand, former Defence Minister and current Transport and Internal Trade Minister in the Trudeau Cabinet. While the second name is of Indian-origin Liberal Party MP George Chahal.
After the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, discussions have started about new contenders. Along with Canadian-origin leaders, two Indians are also included in the race for the post of PM. The first name among these Indian-origin MPs is of former Defense Minister and current Transport and Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand, who was included in the Trudeau cabinet. While the second name is of Indian-origin Liberal Party MP George Chahal. Let’s know who are the Indian-origin MPs.
Indian-origin Anita Anand’s name in discussion
Indian-origin MP Anita Anand is also in discussion in the race for the post of PM in Canada. Anita Anand is included in the Trudeau cabinet. She has been the Defense Minister of Canada. She is also currently the Minister of Transport and Internal Trade. Anita was born in 1967 in Nova Scotia to Indian parents, who were both medical professionals. Her mother Saroj was from Punjab and father S.V. Anand was from Tamil Nadu.
Anita has been a law professor at the University of Toronto. She contested and won the 2019 MP election from Oakville near Toronto. After this, she was elected as the Minister of Public Service and Procurement. During the Kovid epidemic, she played an important role in purchasing vaccines. While being the Defense Minister, she also helped Ukraine. Anita also assisted the Air India Inquiry Commission with extensive research. The commission investigated the bombing of Air India Kanishka flight 182 on 23 June 1985, in which all 329 people were killed. This case was related to Khalistanis.
George Chahal is also in the race for the post of PM
Liberal MP George Chahal’s name is also included as the second Indian-origin in the race for the post of PM of Canada. However, many MPs have recommended appointing him as interim leader. If Chahal is elected interim leader, he will be out of the race for PM. Because according to the rules of Canada, interim leaders cannot contest the post of Prime Minister.
George Chahal wrote a letter to caucus colleagues last week with a request for the post of PM. Chahal had demanded that Trudeau step down as PM and hold elections from the party. A lawyer by profession, Chahal has served on various committees as a Calgary city councillor. Chahal is also the chairman of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and the chairman of the Sikh Caucus.
Chrystia Freeland – Photo: ANI
Names of these leaders are also in the race for the post of PM
Chrystia Freeland
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s former finance minister and deputy prime minister, has long been seen as a supporter of Justin Trudeau. However, after the Donald Trump government came to power in the US, reports of her differences with Justice Trudeau over financial matters and several schemes surfaced. Due to this, she resigned from her post. It is believed that in case Trudeau resigns, the Liberal Party can put her forward for the post of PM. Indian-origin Canadian MP Chandra Arya has also described Freeland as Trudeau’s successor.
Dominic LeBlanc
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc in the Liberal government is one of the few leaders who stand firmly with him despite the difficulties. In such a situation, the leaders of the Liberal Party standing in support of Trudeau can support LeBlanc for the next Prime Minister. A lawyer and leader, LeBlanc is currently handling the finance and interdepartmental ministry in the current government. After Freeland resigned, he was given the responsibility of the Finance Ministry. He has been given several ministerial positions in the Trudeau government in the last decade.
Mark Carney
Apart from the leaders, there is another name for the post of PM of Canada, which has not been associated with politics till now. This name is of Mark Carney, who has previously been the Governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada. Mark Carney has expressed his desire to join politics in the past and for this he is also in touch with the leaders of the Liberal Party. Liberal leaders can put his name forward if Trudeau leaves the post of PM.
Christy Clark
National level Liberal Party leader and former Premier (post equivalent to Chief Minister) of British Columbia province of Canada, Christy Clark’s name is also included in the candidates for the post of PM. She was the Premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. 58-year-old Clark also leads the BC United Party at the provincial level.
Trudeau resigned
Justice Trudeau became the Prime Minister in 2015. Prior to that, the Conservative Party ruled Canada for ten years. Initially, his policies were appreciated. But in recent years, his support declined due to rising food and housing prices and increasing immigration. Trudeau’s ally party and the Jagmeet Singh-led NDP had recently withdrawn their support from the Trudeau government. A recent survey claimed that 73 percent of Canadian citizens want Trudeau to resign from the post of Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader. This also includes 43 percent of Liberal voters. After this, Trudeau announced his resignation from the post of Prime Minister on Monday night. It is not clear yet when Trudeau will leave the post of Prime Minister, however, he himself has clarified that he will remain in this post until the next full-time PM is elected.
What will happen now?
After Justin Trudeau resigns from the post of Prime Minister, the Liberal Party can either appeal to the President to hold early general elections in the country or appoint an interim Prime Minister to replace Trudeau.
If the Liberal Party takes the second path, then after the appointment of the interim Prime Minister, it will have to start the process of selecting a new full-time Prime Minister. However, this task will not be so easy. Actually, the process of selecting the leaders of political parties in Canada is quite complicated like other democratic countries including Britain and America. After Trudeau resigns, the Liberal Party will organize a special conference to select the next full-time PM, in which different leaders will present their claim for the post of PM.
After this, the party workers will participate in the voting to select the next head of the Liberal Party from among these claimants. How long this process will be is decided on the basis of the number of candidates. For example, the more the candidates, the longer the election process. The interesting thing is that elections are to be held in Canada before October 20 this year. In such a situation, if the Liberal Party delays in choosing a full-time Prime Minister, then the leadership of the country will again remain in the hands of Trudeau. That is, even after resigning, he will remain in the same post which he has announced to leave.
It is believed that to deal with this situation, the Liberal Party can shorten the duration of the conference. However, due to this, the party may have to face opposition from those contenders for the post of Prime Minister, who will get less time to prepare and make an impact. This can also lead to internal divisions and rebellion in the party.
