Record 23 Indo-canadians win polls, 18 have Punjab connection
MASSIVE MANDATE Of the 18, 13 belong to Liberal Party, 4 to Conservative Party and one to New Democratic Party
TORONTO : A record number of Indo-canadians were elected to the House of Commons on Monday night, when the results of the federal elections were declared. As many as 23 Indo-canadians were elected as MPS against the 21 elected in 2015, of which 18 have a Punjab connect.
Among the winners was minister of national defence Harjit Sajjan, who won from Vancouver South with a narrow margin. He will be joined in the new House by two of his Indo-canadian cabinet colleagues — Navdeep Bains and Bardish Chagger, who secured more comfortable victories in their ridings of Mississauga-malton and Waterloo, respectively, both of which are in the province of Ontario.
New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh also eked out a win in Burnaby South, in British Columbia. However, it may have been a bittersweet night for him since he led his party to an underwhelming performance, garnering just 24 seats, 20 less than four years ago.
The fourth Indo-canadian minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, Amarjeet Sohi, however, will not be among those returning to the Parliament, as he was soundly defeated by his conservative opponent Tim Uppal, in Edmontonmill Woods, Alberta. Uppal was a minister of state in the government of former PM Stephen Harper, and had narrowly lost to Sohi in 2015, but turned the tables four years later.
MINISTERS NAVDEEP BAINS AND BARDISH CHAGGER SECURED COMFORTABLE VICTORIES
All the Indo-canadian members of Trudeau’s ruling caucus were re-elected, as the Liberal Party held on to its seats in the suburbs around Toronto and Vancouver. A majority of those elected have roots in Punjab, while a record half-a-dozen turbaned Sikhs will now sit in the House. There are some newcomers, such as Liberal Anita Anand, who was elected for the first time from Oakville, Ontario.