Canadian businessman Maninder Sidhu appointed as International Trade Minister

Ottawa, May 14 (IANS) Canadian businessman Maninder Sidhu, who was a parliamentary secretary, has been appointed as International Trade Minister.

Sidhu, 41, who was sworn in as a minister on Tuesday, is an entrepreneur who runs his own international trade specialist business.

He says in his LinkedIn page that he “worked with businesses across Canada to provide strategic advice with a focus on trade, tariffs and growth opportunities”.

Elected to parliament in 2019, he did a short stint as the parliamentary secretary to the Foreign Minister.

Sidhu next parlayed his business experience to become the parliamentary secretary to the International Trade Minister and has now jumped to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet, assuming that portfolio.

He said in an X post that Carney has placed his confidence in him “to diversify trade, support Canadian businesses in reaching new global markets, and help create good-paying jobs across Canada”.

Before his appointment, he said on Facebook about his future mission, “Canada is a trading nation — and we must strengthen and expand the infrastructure that connects us to global markets”.

Sidhu and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand are two Canadians of Indian descent with international-focused portfolios.

Carney has appointed Anita Ananda to the powerful post of Foreign Minister in his new cabinet charged with fulfilling the “mandate for change”.

One of Anand’s missions will be to pilot the reset of the almost ruptured ties with India that Carney signalled, while managing the delicate relations with President Donald Trump’s America.

Announcing the new cabinet of 28 ministers, he instructed them to "bring new ideas, a clear focus and decisive actions to their work”.

Anand, who was the transport minister and had earlier held the defence portfolio, said in January that she was leaving politics and returning to academia.

But Carney persuaded her to return to the cabinet and take the foreign affairs portfolio after she was re-elected in last month’s election.

--IANS

al/rs