Gary Anandasangaree

Sathiyasangaree "Gary" Anandasangaree (சத்தியசங்கரி ஆனந்தசங்கரி) is a Tamil Canadian politician of Tamil origin and a lawyer who has served as the Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations since July 2023. He is the second Canadian federal minister of Tamil descent to hold office, following Anita Anand. He was elected to represent the riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park in the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election.

Early life and family
Anandasangaree, born in Jaffna in 1973, is the son of V. Anandasangaree, a leading Sri Lankan Tamil politician, by his second wife, Yogam. His parents separated in 1980 and he and his mother moved to Ireland, where she had relatives. They had planned to return to Sri Lanka in July 1983; but when the Black July anti-Tamil riots broke out, Anandasangaree and his mother travelled to Canada on August 31, 1983. Anandasangaree is estranged from his father and has only met him twice since 1983.

After high school Anandasangaree attended Carleton University, graduating in 1996 with a B.A. honours degree in political science. He is married and together they have two children, Bairavi and Sahanah.

Career
Anandasangaree worked in real estate as a registered real estate broker between 1996 and 2006.

Anandasangaree studied at the Osgoode Hall Law School, the law faculty of York University. He graduated in 2005 with a LL.B. degree and was called to the bar in 2006. Anandasangaree is the principal lawyer at Gary Anandasangaree and Associates, a Toronto law firm specialising in business, real estate and international human rights law. He is a member of The Law Society of Upper Canada, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association and South Asian Bar Association.

Anandasangaree has served on various community groups: Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce (president); Canadian Tamil Congress (counsel); Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (chairman); Newcomer Grants for the United Way of Greater Toronto (member); Toronto Board of Trade (member); Toronto City Summit’s Emerging Leaders Network (member); and Youth Challenge Fund (board member). He has also lectured at the Centennial College Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He has received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has also been awarded the TREB Award and Henry Marshall Tory Award for Service.

Anandasangaree has been a vocal campaigner against human rights abuses during the Sri Lankan Civil War and has attended several sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This has led to Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists labelling Anandasangaree as a member of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). However, LTTE supporters openly backed Anandasangaree's conservative opponent during the 2015 federal election campaign.

Politics
Anandasangaree became active in politics after joining the Liberal Party. In October 2013 Anandasangaree announced that he would be seeking the Liberal Party nomination for the Scarborough—Rouge Park for the 2015 federal election. He won the nomination election held in August 2014. He won the election held on October 19, 2015, securing 29,906 votes (60.1%).

Anandasangaree continued his advocacy for Human Rights in parliament, speaking on International Human Rights Day about welcoming Syrian refugees and an Iranian scholar (Dr. Hossein Raessi) who was protected due to a joint program between Carleton University and University of Ottawa.

Anandasangaree sat on the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development committee in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. He was Parliamentary Secretary to Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller in May 2021, and on December 3rd of that year was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

On July 26, 2023, Anandasangaree became the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations.