Close X
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
ADVT 
National

40 Indian-Origin Candidates In Fray In Canada's Federal Election

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Oct, 2015 01:32 PM
    Forty Indo-Canadians are in the fray in Monday's election to the 338-member parliament on Monday.
     
    There were eight Indo-Canadian MPs in the outgoing 308-member House of Commons. But this could go up this time as the three main parties - the Tories, Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party - have fielded 40 Indo-Canadians, including all the incumbents.
     
    Among the incumbents is the longest-serving Indo-Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai, who is also parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.
     
    Also in the fray are the outgoing minister of state for sports Bal Gosal and the minister of state for multiculturalism Tim Uppal.
     
    Interestingly, there is a direct fight between Indo-Canadian candidates in as many as 10 constituencies. 
     
    The direct fights are taking places in constituencies - or ridings as they are called - with huge Indo-Canadian population such as Brampton, Surrey, Calgary and Edmonton.
     
    Apart from the 40 Indo-Canadians fielded by the three main parties, a couple of Indo-Canadians are in the fray as independents.
     
    After the longest ever election campaign of 11 weeks in Canadian history, Monday's vote will elect 338 members to the House of Commons - up from 308 in 2011 as 30 more constituencies have been added this time.
     
     
    Numbering about 1.2 million, Indo-Canadians make up more than three percent of Canada's population of about 35 million and have become a significant political force.
     
    Canada elected its first Indian-origin MP in 1993 when turbaned Sikh Gurbax Malhi won from the Toronto-area.
     
    Malhi's election opened the gates for other Indo-Canadians. In fact, current parliamentary secretary Obhrai, first elected in 1997, is seeking his seventh term in the Canadian parliament from Calgary. 
     
    Canada also has the distinction of appointing an Indian-origin person as a full-fledged cabinet minister anywhere in the Western world when Herb Dhaliwal became the federal revenue minister in 1997.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Homeless Woman Trapped In Clothing Donation Bin Dies After Being Rescued In Pitt Meadows

    Homeless Woman Trapped In Clothing Donation Bin Dies After Being Rescued In Pitt Meadows
    A twitter post from the detachment confirms a 45-year-old homeless woman has died after being pulled from a clothing donation bin at a mall in Pitt Meadows, east of Vancouver.

    Homeless Woman Trapped In Clothing Donation Bin Dies After Being Rescued In Pitt Meadows

    Jury Hears 16-Year-Old Girl Was Pregnant When Killed In Kamloops, B.C.

    A 16-year-old girl was murdered hours after she and her boyfriend learned she was pregnant, says a Crown lawyer.

    Jury Hears 16-Year-Old Girl Was Pregnant When Killed In Kamloops, B.C.

    Crash In The Fog Near Revelstoke, B.C., Claims Life Of An Alberta Woman

    Crash In The Fog Near Revelstoke, B.C., Claims Life Of An Alberta Woman
    An early morning crash on Highway 1 in southeastern B.C. has claimed the life of an Alberta woman.

    Crash In The Fog Near Revelstoke, B.C., Claims Life Of An Alberta Woman

    Edmonton Police Face Spike In Crime Calls Due To Energy Industry Woes

    Chief Rod Knecht said officers have responded to 9,000 more calls for service this year, compared to the same time in 2014.

    Edmonton Police Face Spike In Crime Calls Due To Energy Industry Woes

    B.C. Government, Teachers Work Out A $1-Million Lesson Plan For New Curriculum

    B.C. Government, Teachers Work Out A $1-Million Lesson Plan For New Curriculum
    VICTORIA — The B.C. government is rolling out a $1-million plan to educate the teachers on the new provincial curriculum.

    B.C. Government, Teachers Work Out A $1-Million Lesson Plan For New Curriculum

    Conservatives Promise $700-Milllion For Light-Rail Transit In Surrey

    Conservatives Promise $700-Milllion For Light-Rail Transit In Surrey
    Industry Minister James Moore and candidate Dianne Watts made the announcement Monday morning

    Conservatives Promise $700-Milllion For Light-Rail Transit In Surrey