India-born Harjit Sajjan was named Canada's new Defence Minister. (Reuters Photo)
India-born Harjit Sajjan, a former police officer and veteran of three military deployments to Afghanistan, was named Canada's new minister of defence on Wednesday, bringing first-hand expertise to one of the country's top cabinet positions.
Elected to Parliament for the first time in last month's election, Mr Sajjan is illustrative of the younger, more diverse cabinet newly sworn-in Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had aimed to create.
Mr Sajjan will oversee an anticipated change in Canada's military involvement in the battle against militants in Syria and Iraq. PM Trudeau has already said he wants to end Canada's air strikes in the region in favour of providing humanitarian help.
Outgoing Conservative defence minister Jason Kenney had taken a hardline stance on security, saying Canada needed to be fighting against Islamic State militants to prevent them from becoming a threat to Canada.
The issue has been at the forefront since a gunman killed a soldier and stormed Canada's Parliament last October.
Mr Sajjan is a Lieutenant-Colonel in Canada's armed forces and was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He was Canada's first Sikh commanding officer and received a number of recognitions for his service, including the Order of Military Merit.
He was also a police officer in Vancouver for 11 years, which included working as a detective in the gang crime unit. He won the riding of Vancouver South where he grew up, defeating a Conservative incumbent.
He is married with two young children.
© Thomson Reuters 2015