As many as 17 Indo-Canadian candidates will go to the House of Commons after securing victories in the Canada snap elections held on Monday, 20 September, that incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won.
Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party (NDP) as well as the three Indo-Canadian ministers in the dissolved cabinet claimed victory.
Despite a sexual harassment crisis in the Canadian Armed Forces under his watch and the evacuation mission in Afghanistan which was vastly criticized, Defence minister Harjit Sajjan was re-elected from Vancouver South, with around 49 percent of the vote share, Hindustan Times reported.
Among Indo-Canadians, another high profile minister Anita Anand also retained her seat from Oakville Ontario. She handled the public services and procurement portfolio and was described by Trudeau as his minister for vaccines.
Meanwhile, Bardish Chagger, minister of diversity, inclusion and youth, won from Waterloo in Ontario.
NDP Increases Its Vote Share
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was re-elected from Burnaby South, with nearly 38 percent of the votes cast.
Moreover, his party outshined at the national level, as the NDP increased its vote share to 17.7 percent from 15.98 percent in 2019. However, the NDP could only gain one more seat in the House of Commons, rising from 24 to 25.
The NDP will again be the fourth-largest group in the House of Commons, behind Trudeau’s Liberal Party, the principal opposition Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois.
Several sitting MPs from the Greater Toronto Area were re-elected, including former parliamentary secretary Kamal Khera from Brampton West, Ruby Sahota from Brampton North, Sonia Sidhu from Brampton South and Arif Virani from Parkdale-High Park, Hindustan Times reported.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
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