Here Are The 17 Indian-Origin Leaders Who Have Won Elections In Canada
As Canadians gave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party another chance in the Parliament, it has also paved the path of success for as many as 17 Indian-origin Canadians, including NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
Canadians gave 49-year-old Trudeau's Liberal Party a victory in Monday's parliamentary elections, but his gamble to win a majority of seats failed and nearly mirrored the result of two years ago.
According to Canadian media reports, his party secured the most seats as compared to other political organisations. The media reports claimed that his party were leading or elected in 156 seats one less than they won in 2019, and 14 short of the 170 needed for a majority in the House of Commons.
Nonetheless, this is Trudeau's third federal election win, but his critics say the poll was a waste of time.
All three Indo-Canadian ministers in the dissolved Cabinet - Harjit Sajjan, Anita Anand and Bardish Chagger - emerged victorious as did 42-year-old New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh from Burnaby South.
Jagmeet Singh
"I want to say that Canadians know that you can count on the New Democrats to continue fighting for you. As we've fought for you in the pandemic when times are difficult when people were struggling when people were worried about their future. We were there for you," Jagmeet Singh said in his concession speech late on Monday night.
Jagmeet Singh made history by becoming the first non-white leader of a federal party in Canada in 2017. Recently, he picked up the endorsement of a fellow left-of-centre politician, US Senator and former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
Harjit Sajjan
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was re-elected from Vancouver-South, with nearly 49 per cent of the vote share, drawing even more votes than his last decisive victory in the riding he grew up in and still calls home, CTV News reported.
Sajjan was re-elected despite the cloud of misconduct allegations hanging over the Canadian Forces and the government's handling of the situation in Afghanistan, the report added.
"My community knows me," he said. "When we talk about things that happened 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago, obviously we're going to take action. And now that more women are coming forward, having the confidence to come forward, yes we're taking action."
Anita Anand??
The Liberals' Anand was declared the winner in Oakville with a nearly 46 per cent vote share; a significant development for Canada's vaccine minister. Anand was a rookie MP after winning in 2019 when she was appointed, City News Toronto reported.
She quickly became in charge of the country's efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines and was often on the campaign trail with Trudeau, it said."I'm just ecstatic," she said, thanking the volunteers who had worked "extremely hard as a team for five weeks straight," she was quoted as saying by the Oakville News.
In her role as former Minister of Public Services and Procurement, 54-year-old Anand played a very public role in the Liberal response to the health crisis.
Bardish Chagger
Liberal incumbent Chagger was declared the winner of Waterloo with a 44.8 per cent vote share."This is a tremendous community to be able to represent," 41-year-old Chagger was quoted as saying by the CTV News.
"This election was really about a mandate. Where do Canadians want to go? Does the environment matter? Do social programmes matter? Do infrastructure investments matter? And clearly, they do," Chagger said.
Other Indo-Canadian winners
Among other winners from the Liberal Party are Kamal Khera from Brampton West (55% vote share), Ruby Sahota from Brampton North (54%), Sonia Sidhu from Brampton South (50%), Maninder Sidhu from Brampton East (55%), Sukh Dhaliwal from Surrey-Newton (54%).
George Chahal from Calgary Skyview in Alberta (42%), Arif Virani from Parkdale-High Park (42%), Randeep Sarai from Surrey Centre (44%), Anju Dhillon from Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle (52%), Chandra Arya from Nepean (44%), and First-time candidate Iqwinder Gaheer from Mississauga-Malton (53%).
Meanwhile, among the Conservative Party, Tim Uppal from Edmonton Mill Woods (38%) and Jasraj Singh Hallan from Calgary Forest Lawn seat (44%) have retained their seats.
Canada hosts one of the largest Indian community in the world, numbering 1.6 million people, which accounts for more than three per cent of its total population.?
