Anil Arora

Anil Arora is a Canadian former civil servant who served as the 12th Chief Statistician of Canada from September 19, 2016 to March 31, 2024. Prior to his role as Chief Statistician, Arora served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Natural Resources Canada and Health Canada. He is also a public speaker, and has presented at conferences domestically and internationally.

Early life Arora was born in Dehradun, India. After his father was offered a job, the family immigrated to Canada, settling in Edmonton, Alberta. He graduated from the University of Alberta in 1985, and then worked in the petroleum industry, doing further studies in management and computer sciences. He joined Statistics Canada's regional operations in late 1988 and moved to Ottawa in 1997.

Career Arora began his career with Statistics Canada in Edmonton in 1988,

In 2000, he became director of census management, and subsequently, the director general responsible for the research functions of the 2001 census and the entirety of the 2006 census. In 2013, he was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Science and Policy Integration. Arora helped the agency assist governing health agencies with contact tracing across the country, and led the implementation of the 2021 census when it had to go contactless due to pandemic protocols. Safety of Our Cities Conference, International Association of Privacy Professionals Canada Privacy Symposium, Government of Canada data conferences, and Cabinet of Canada meetings. In 2023, he delivered the Canada School of Public Service's Manion Lecture at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. He has delivered guest lectures at universities and colleges including Queen's University at Kingston, the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University, Nunavut Arctic College, the University of Saskatchewan, Carleton University, and the University of Ottawa.

On June 14, 2023, Arora was reappointed as Chief Statistician until March 31, 2024.

Selected publications

"Canadian Identity–Past, present and future." Canadian Issues (2023): 2–7. With Maire Sinha and Sharanjit Uppal. "Now more than ever, the world needs data stewards." Centre for International Governance Innovation (October 1, 2020). With Rohinton P. Medhora. "Modernizing the national statistical system: Stakeholder consultations." Statistics Canada (June 2018). . “Statistics Canada – Census on the Net.” Statistical Journal of the UN Economic Commission for Europe 23, no. 1 (July 12, 2006): 11–22. With Graeme Gilmour. . "2006 Census of Canada: Strategic direction and issues." Statistics Canada International Symposium Series - Proceedings (2003).