Do we like Anita Anand?
Our score: 7 out of 10. No harmful words of her own turned up and the record is decent, but the government she speaks for goes quiet on rights when trade is in play.
Anita Anand is Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister in Mark Carney's government, a Liberal who got there after a stint as defence minister. That earlier job dropped her into the fallout from Louise Arbour's review of the military's culture, which tells you plenty: she's a dutiful operator rather than a firebrand. We couldn't read a full pre-politics backstory in the sources we opened, so we'll leave that part out rather than guess.
On the military review, she told reporters in June 2022 that “you will see the progress as this year unfolds”, and said work had already begun on 17 of Arbour's 48 recommendations. Arbour herself said change would need “the political will to act”. So the promise was big and the proof was still to come, which is fair to say about most ministers.
The harm check first. We found no anti-LGBTQ+, anti-woman, anti-migrant or climate-denying words from her, and nothing on trans issues at all, which is a genuine gap. The wobble is her government's record: Canada didn't join other countries in condemning Turkey's raids on LGBTQ+ organisations while it negotiates a trade deal with Turkey. Anand said Canada doesn't tolerate discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and that Carney has been clear on it.
Then there's Israel. A coalition including World Beyond War and the Arms Embargo Now campaign said Israeli customs data showed Canadian arms were still going to Israel, and alleged the government misled Parliament. Anand called the report “flawed”, said Canada stopped issuing new permits for military goods to Israel in January 2024, and said Canada “has drawn, and will continue to draw, a hard line”. Where you land depends on whether you trust the customs data or her department's reading of it.
On India, ahead of Carney's trip in February 2026, officials suggested India was no longer involved in foreign interference. Anand wouldn't say whether she agreed, though she said “No country has a pass” on public safety and security. Former national security advisor Jody Thomas said she didn't believe the officials' claim, and at least two Liberal MPs pushed back too. It reads as careful diplomacy to some and as dodging to others.
The wider charge against her government is that trade has crowded out human rights and aid. At an April 2026 summit she said she wanted to “gently push back” and argued values are tied to economic and defence interests. Critics including former Liberal minister Lloyd Axworthy said Ottawa signs deals with Beijing and Gulf states while avoiding direct criticism of their rights records. It's a live argument, and she's the face of it.