A new record 24 Indo-Canadians won in the Federal election on April 28, surpassing the 21 who were elected four years ago.
Key Winners in the Indo-Canadian Election Bloc
Some of the key winners included Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Anita Anand, who won the riding of Oakville East easily and is likely to be included in a high-profile role in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet. Anand had originally taken her name out of the running but was persuaded to run.
But there were bigger losers. Among them the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Jagmeet Singh, who was third in the riding of Burnaby Central, and then declared his intention to resign the position once the party selected an interim leader.
Cabinet Representation and Defeats
The lone other Indo-Canadian member of the Carney Cabinet Kamal Khera, though, will not be coming back to the House of Commons since she lost to her Conservative opponent Amarjeet Gill, a businessman, of Brampton West.
Meanwhile, Conservative former provincial Minister Parm Gill, who opted to run for the Federal election, was declared elected from Milton East-Halton Hills South.
Former Cabinet Minister and incumbent Mayor of Edmonton Amarjeet Sohi, who was trying to make a comeback to Federal politics, lost to Conservative Jagsharan Singh Mahal.
Returning Veterans and Conservative Strongholds
Former Cabinet Minister Bardish Chagger held on to her seat of Waterloo in Ontario.
Former Minister in the Government of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Tim Uppal, held on to his seat in the House, winning from Edmonton Gateway.
While, however, Conservative Shuv Majumdar held on to Calgary Heritage, long a seat of Harper. And Parliamentary Secretary Maninder Sidhu was returned from Brampton East.
Indo-Canadians Lead in Key Regions in Election
As a matter of fact, while the number of Indo-Canadians increases in the nation’s elections, they were the leading runners in many of the races in Brampton, Edmonton, Surrey in British Columbia and Calgary.
While there will be a good number of veterans coming back to the House, there will be a number of Indo-Canadian newcomers, 10 in all.
Most of the two-dozen elected Indo-Canadian MPs trace their origins to Punjab.
