Riding to watch: Brampton East
WHY IT MATTERS
Brampton East could prove the NDP’s beachhead in Peel Region, a suburban area to Toronto’s west that includes Brampton, Mississauga and several small communities. It’s a new riding carved from Bramalea-Gore-Malton, where New Democrat Jagmeet Singh narrowly lost the 2011 federal election before he ran successfully for the same seat at Queen’s Park. NDP candidate Harbaljit Kahlon worked for Singh for years. The area was “the weakest Conservative performance in (Peel Region) by a large margin” in 2011, said Barry Kay, a Wilfrid Laurier University political science professor. The Conservative candidate Naval Bajaj is the president of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and “a small business guy,” according to Mark Towhey, a management consultant and political strategist with Ballacaine Strategy & Execution. “The Conservatives have focused intently on building inroads into the South Asian communities, especially the Indo-Canadian communities in Brampton.” Lawyer Raj Grewal is running for the Liberals, and given their historic ties to new immigrant communities, he shouldn’t be discounted. Immigration policy is a key issue locally, Singh said, as many in the area feel betrayed by the Conservatives’ moves to make it harder to immigrate and make it possible to deport some dual Canadian citizens convicted of high crimes. He said many have had trouble sponsoring loved ones or even spouses and others are concerned about Anti-Terrorism Bill C-51 since they fled countries where civil liberties are routinely infringed by government.
KEY DEMOGRAPHICS
Almost 60 per cent of the population in the fast-growing riding are first-generation Canadians, and 42 per cent of its total population emigrated from Asia, close to a third from India, according to the 2011 StatsCan census. It’s one of — if not the most — diverse ridings in Canada: nearly 88 per cent identifying as a visible minority and more than 60 per cent as South Asian.
CLAIM TO FAME
Grewal’s nomination meeting was said to be so fraught a physical brawl broke out after some potential voters were turned away. Towhey said it will be interesting to see if he can repair the Liberal divides in order to find the path to victory.
THE DARK HORSE
There are currently no candidates registered to run in Brampton East other than from the three largest parties, however, candidates have until Monday to file their papers with Elections Canada.
TIM HORTONS OR STARBUCKS?
This is deep in the heart of car country, baby. Who cares what company it is, as long as it has a drive-thru.