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User:Madg2011/List of turbaned Sikh Canadian legislators

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Turbaned Sikh legislators have served in both federal and provincial legislatures in Canada.

Sikhism has had a presence in Canada since the late 1800s. However, only in the 1990s did turban-wearing Sikhs become prominent in Canadian public life, as Punjabi immigrant populations grew, especially in the Greater Toronto Area and Metro Vancouver. In 1990, the Baltej Dhillon case allowed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers to wear the turban while on duty, and paved the way for a greater acceptance of turbaned Sikhs in government and public service roles. Gurbax Singh Malhi, elected in Bramalea—Gore—Malton in the 1993 federal election, was the first turbaned Sikh legislator in Canadian history, and the first anywhere in the Western world.[1] At the time, parliamentary protocol had to be changed to allow Malhi to wear his turban on the floor of the House of Commons.

Canada has elected significantly more turbaned Sikh legislators than other comparable Western countries. No turbaned politicians have been elected to federal legislatures in Australia or the United States. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the United Kingdom's first turbaned MP, was elected in 2017, 23 years after Malhi in Canada.[2] New Zealand's first turbaned MP, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, was elected in 2008.[3]

Note that this is not a list of Sikh legislators in Canada, as there have been many members of both federal and provincial legislatures who identify as Sikh, yet do not wear the turban (including, notably, former British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosanjh). It also does not include those turbaned Sikhs who have unsuccessfully run in federal and provincial elections.

Federal

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House of Commons

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Seven turbaned Sikhs have sat in the House of Commons of Canada as Members of Parliament. Six sat as Liberals - one of whom later left the caucus to become an Independent - one as a Conservative. Three of the seven represented seats in Ontario and two represented seats in each of Alberta and British Columbia. Three turbaned Sikh MPs have served in the Cabinet of Canada.

The 2015 federal election saw five turbaned Sikhs elected to the House of Commons, the most ever in a single election.[4]

Image Name Riding Prov. Political Party Took office Left office Duration Notes
Gurbax Singh Malhi Bramalea—Gore—Malton
1993-2000; 2004-2011		 ON Liberal October 25, 1993 May 2, 2011 17 years, 189 days First turbaned Sikh member of a federal or provincial legislature in Canada.[5]
Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale
2000-2004
Navdeep Bains Mississauga—Brampton South
2004-2011		 ON Liberal June 28, 2004 May 2, 2011 6 years, 308 days Served as Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development in Justin Trudeau's cabinet.[6]
Mississauga—Malton
2015-present		 October 19, 2015 Incumbent 9 years, 33 days
Tim Uppal Edmonton—Sherwood Park AB Conservative October 14, 2008 October 19, 2015 7 years, 5 days First turbaned Sikh Cabinet minister in Canada, serving as Minister of State (Democratic Reform) and Minister of State (Multiculturalism) in Stephen Harper's cabinet.[4]
Raj Grewal Brampton East ON Liberal October 19, 2015 Incumbent 9 years, 33 days
Darshan Kang Calgary Skyview AB Liberal
2015-2017		 October 19, 2015 Incumbent 9 years, 33 days Sat as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta before his election to the House of Commons.[7]
Independent
2017-present
Harjit Sajjan Vancouver South BC Liberal October 19, 2015 Incumbent 9 years, 33 days Served as Minister of National Defence in Justin Trudeau's cabinet.[8]
Randeep Sarai Surrey Centre BC Liberal October 19, 2015 Incumbent 9 years, 33 days

Senate

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One turbaned Sikh has been appointed to the Senate of Canada.

Image Name Division Prov. Political Party Took office Appointing PM Left office Duration Notes
Sabi Marwah n/a ON Independent Senators Group November 10, 2016 J. Trudeau Incumbent 8 years, 11 days First turbaned Sikh Canadian Senator.[9]

Provincial

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Three turbaned Sikhs have been elected to provincial legislatures in Canada.

Alberta

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Two turbaned Sikhs have been elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Both turbaned MLAs were elected in the 2008 provincial election, making them jointly the first turbaned Sikhs to serve in a Canadian provincial legislature. One of the two, Manmeet Bhullar, was the first turbaned Sikh provincial Cabinet minister in Canada.

Image Name Riding Political Party Took office Left office Duration Notes
Manmeet Bhullar Calgary-Montrose
2008-2012		 Progressive Conservative March 3, 2008 November 23, 2015 7 years, 265 days Served as Minister of Service Alberta, Minister of Human Services, and Minister of Infrastructure in the governments of Alison Redford, Dave Hancock, and Jim Prentice.[10]
Calgary-Greenway
2012-2015
Darshan Kang Calgary-McCall Liberal March 3, 2008 May 4, 2015 7 years, 62 days Sat as a member of the House of Commons following his career in the provincial legislature.[7]

Ontario

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One turbaned Sikh has been elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Image Name Riding Political Party Took office Left office Duration Notes
Jagmeet Singh Bramalea—Gore—Malton New Democratic October 6, 2011 October 20, 2017 6 years, 14 days First turbaned Sikh to lead a major Canadian political party. Singh resigned his seat in the Ontario legislature after being elected leader of the federal New Democratic Party.

References

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  1. ^ "Gurbax Singh Malhi". liberal.ca. Library and Archives Canada. October 26, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  2. ^ Sonwalkar, Prasun (July 19, 2017). "Glass ceiling broken, says UK's first turban-wearing Sikh MP". Hindustan Times. London. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  3. ^ "About Kanwaljit: Your strong voice for Manukau East". New Zealand National Party. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Singh, Gurpreet (October 25, 2015). "Voters elected a record number of turbaned Sikhs in Canadian election". The Georgia Straight. Vancouver. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  5. ^ McCarthy, Preeti (July 3, 2017). "Canadian Sikh featured in Canada's 150 years celebrations". SBS. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  6. ^ Macaluso, Grace (November 4, 2015). "High hopes for new federal minister in charge of auto industry". Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Livingstone, Barb (January 2, 2016). "Darshan Kang: Liberal MP". Calgary Herald. Calgary. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  8. ^ Baluja, Tamara (November 4, 2015). "Harjit Sajjan: Meet Canada's new 'badass' defence minister". CBC News. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "Marwah is Canada's first Sikh Senator". The Times of India. Toronto. November 3, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Alberta Conservative MLA Manmeet Bhullar killed in highway crash". CBC News. Edmonton. November 23, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
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Category:Sikhism in Canada Category:Lists of Canadian politicians Category:Lists of politicians Category:Lists of Canadian parliamentarians

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