Indian-origin official: ‘Totally run by Indians?’: Canada chair faces backlash for naming Indian-origin members in government agency

Some critics say Canada’s leaders may have taken their cues from political rhetoric south of the border. Canadian politician Daniel Tyrie’s social media post questioning the presence of Indian-origin officials in government sparked an online backlash and reignited debates over immigration, identity and representation in public institutions.Canada’s Indian-origin population is growing rapidly. With an estimated population of between 1.8 million and 2.9 million people, the community is one of the largest Indian diaspora, accounting for approximately 5.1% of Canada’s total population. Census data also shows the community has grown by 17.5% since the last census, reflecting its growing influence in business, politics and public service.Tyrie sparked controversy when she posted on X asking: “How can Global Affairs Canada be run entirely by Indians?” In the post, he shared photos of several South Asian officials working within the Canadian government, citing them as evidence of what he said was overrepresentation.Photos of officials including Arun Thangaraj, Maninder Sidhu, Randeep Sarai and Anita Anand appeared in his post.Arun Thangaraj was born in Canada and is currently the Deputy Minister of Transport of Canada.Maninder Sidhu is a parliamentary secretary who was born in India but immigrated to Canada as a child. His parents came to Canada as international students in the early 1980s and settled in Surrey, British Columbia, where they later established the family business.Randeep Sarai is the Liberal Member of Parliament for Surrey Center. He was born in Vancouver on April 15, 1975 and grew up in Burnaby. His Sikh parents immigrated from Punjab before he was born.Anita Anand, former Minister of Defense and current Member of Parliament for Oakville, was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, in 1967. Her father SV Anand is a surgeon from Tamil Nadu and her mother Saroj D. Ram is an anesthetist from Punjab. Both immigrated to Canada in the early 1960s.When a user on X pointed out that several of the officials he mentioned were Canadian-born, Terry defended his argument.“To be Canadian is to be part of a generational lineage that stretches back to the pioneers who settled and built this great country,” he wrote.He continued: “A person born to two Indians in Canada is still an Indian. It’s not rocket science.”Terry also believes that racial diversity is being defined incorrectly. “There’s nothing ‘diversity’ about four Indians. Unless you use the modern definition of diversity, which is non-white.”His comments quickly sparked backlash online, with users accusing him of misrepresenting officials’ backgrounds and ignoring the broader makeup of the government.One user responded: “No. They’re all Canadian. And they were all born in Canada. You forgot to show the white guy, it’s Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.”Another user questioned the focus on race, writing: “Whatever their background… the main question is… are they doing a good job, if not then kick them out. So far the foreign minister has done a great job.”