Who are the 18 Sikhs Who’ve Been Voted into Canadian Parliament?
Eighteen Sikhs have been voted into the Canadian parliament in the recently concluded elections.
Video Editor: Vivek Gupta, Ashutosh Bharadwaj
Eighteen Sikhs have been voted to the Canadian Parliament in the recently concluded elections. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned to power after his Liberal Party won 157 out of 338 seats.
Among the newly-elected Sikh MPs in Canada, 13 are from the Liberal Party.
1. Harjit Singh Sajjan
Born in Bombeli in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district. Harjit Sajjan is Canada's first Sikh Minister of National Defence. He has previously served in the Vancouver Police department and the Canadian armed forces.
2. Randeep Singh Sarai
Born and raised in Vancouver, Randeep Sarai is an entrepreneur and practiced law before his tryst with politics. When not in parliament, Sarai spends his time doing yoga, playing soccer and jogging.
3. Sukh Dhaliwal
Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, Sukh Dhaliwal moved to Canada in 1984. In June 2010, he moved a motion in the Canadian parliament to declare the 1984 anti-Sikh riots a 'genocide'.
4. Navdeep Singh Bains
Born in Toronto, Navdeep Bains is also a chartered accountant. He has worked with Nike and Ford Motors before joining politics. At 26, he was elected as the youngest liberal MP in 2004.
5. Kamal Khera
Born in Delhi, Kamal Khera is also a registered nurse. She worked in the health sector before entering politics. At 26, she was elected as the youngest woman liberal MP.
6. Gagan Sikand
Born in Toronto, Gagan Sikand is a lawyer and politician. His father, Baljit Sikand, qualified for India’s 1984 Olympic field hockey team but moved to Canada in 1981. Sikand was born in 1984.
7. Rameshwar Singh Sangha
Born in Punjab's Jalandhar, Rameshwar Sangha's family had moved to Canada in 1995. In September 2019, Sangha had warned his liberal party over backing Khalistan supporters.
8. Ruby Sahota
Born in Toronto, Ruby Sahota worked as a criminal lawyer before entering politics. Her family had moved to Canada in late 1970s. Her father was the chairperson of the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara council.
9. Maninder Singh Sidhu
Born in Punjab, Maninder Singh Sidhu is an entrepreneur and a liberal newcomer. Maninder is still a member of the charity society of his native Malsian Khas village.
10. Sonia Sidhu
Born in Amritsar, Punjab, Sonia Sidhu moved to Canada in 1992. She worked as a diabetes educator for 18 years before entering politics.
11. Bardish Chagger
Bardish Chagger was born in Ontario's Waterloo after her parents moved to Canada in the late 1970s. Her father, Goggi Chagger, was a liberal leader too.
12. Raj Saini
Born in Himachal Pradesh, Raj Saini worked as a pharmacist, having moved to Kitchener to start Greenbrook Pharmacy, a local independent business which he has co-owned and operated for more than 20 years.
13. Anju Dhillon
Born and raised in Montreal, Anju Dhillon was a liberal party volunteer from the age of 13. She practiced law for eight years before joining politics.
The main opposition, the Conservatives, secured 121 seats in the Canadian elections. Among the newly elected Sikh MPs in Canada, four from the Conservative Party.
1. Tim Singh Uppal
Born in New Westminster, Tim Singh Uppal is a banker and politician. Uppal was a radio jockey before he joined politics
2. Jasraj Singh Hallan
Born in Dubai, Jasraj Singh Hallan moved to Canada when he was a child. He also runs a homebuilding business.
3. Jag Sahota
Jag Sahota is an Indian-origin politician from Canada. She practiced law before contesting elections.
4. Bob Saroya
Born in Punjab, Bob Saroya moved to Canada in 1974. He owned several restaurants before contesting elections in 2008.
Jagmeet Singh
Trudeau will lead a minority government because his party failed to secure a majority of 170 MPs in the parliament. New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh is the kingmaker. Trudeau will need his help to form a majority government.
Born in Ontario, Jagmeet practiced as a criminal lawyer before contesting elections in 2011. His parents moved to Canada in 1970s. His grandfather was a freedom fighter. He has also spoken out about being sexually abused as a child
The number of Sikh MPs in the Canadian Parliament’s House of Commons is higher than those in the Lok Sabha even though Sikhs make up about 2 percent of the population in both the countries, While 18 Sikhs have been elected to the Canadian Parliament in the recently concluded Canadian elections, there are currently 13 Sikh MPs in the Lok Sabha.
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