Canada appoints a new Minister of National Defence

Earlier today, the Honorable Lieutenant-Colonel (ret’d) Harjit Sajjan, P.C., MP, OMM, has been sworn in as Minister of National Defence at Rideau Hall, the residence of His Excellency the Governor General, in the presence of the new Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.  The Hon. Sajjan was elected as Member of Parliament for Vancouver South on October 19, 2015.  In addition to his ministerial duties, Mr. Sajjan has been named on the Cabinet Committee on Agenda and Results; the Cabinet Committee on Canada in the World and Public Security; the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Canada-United States Relations; and, the Cabinet Committee on Intelligence and Emergency Management.

Hon. Sajjan immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of five. He has had a distinguished career in the Reserve Force of the Canadian Armed Forces which included three deployments to Afghanistan and one to Bosnia. In July 2014, he was named to the Order of Military Merit in the rank of officer by the Governor General. The Hon. Sajjan has also served as detective in the Vancouver Police Department.