Punjab: 13 Punjabis win in British Columbia elections
Punjab: 13 candidates from Punjab have won the recently held British Columbia provincial elections, further strengthening the community’s influence in Canadian politics. The victory comes at a time when the Indo-Canadian population, particularly the Punjabi community, continues to grow in size and importance, especially in British Columbia. The New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Conservative Party won 46 and 45 seats respectively, while the Green Party emerged victorious in two seats in the 93-member House. The successful candidates come from different political backgrounds, representing both the NDP and the Conservative Party. They contested the election on various platforms, advocating issues such as healthcare reform, economic development, climate action and more support for immigrants.
Key winners included Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who retained his Delta North seat by a significant margin. Kahlon has played a key role in pushing policies related to housing and climate change. Another notable winner is Raj Chouhan, the outgoing Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. Winning for a record sixth time, he had earlier served as assistant deputy-chairman from 2013 to 2017 and deputy-chairman from 2017 to 2020. Minister of State for Trade Jagrup Brar won from Surrey Fleetwood for the seventh time. Born in Bathinda, Brar was once part of the Indian national basketball team. Later, he moved to Canada for studies and settled there. He has been active in politics since 2004 when he was elected MLA.
Conservative Party candidate Mandeep Dhaliwal has defeated Education and Child Care Minister Rachna Singh from Surrey North. However, prominent Punjabi leader Jinny Sims lost from Surrey Panorama. NDP candidates Ravi Parmar won from Langford Highland, Sunita Dhir from Vancouver Langara, Riya Arora from Burnaby East and Harvinder Kaur Sandhu from Vernon Monashee. Harvinder has won for the second time from the seat. Attorney General Nikki Sharma has won re-election in Vancouver Hastings, while Jesse Sanner has won in Surrey Newton. Conservative leader Harman Singh Bhanghu has won in the Langley Abbotsford constituency, Honvir Singh Randhawa in Surrey Guildford and Todi Toor in Langley Willowbrook. Their victories are a significant moment for the Punjabi community, which has long played a key role in the socio-economic fabric of British Columbia, especially in cities like Surrey and Abbotsford, which have large Indo-Canadian populations. These regions have seen a rise in political mobilisation in recent years, with local community leaders emphasising the importance of political representation.
