The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s gamble to seek a majority by calling a snap election has not paid off as Canadians voted yet another hung parliament on Monday even as 17 Indo-Canadians were elected as MPs to the 44th parliament.
Trudeau’s Liberal Party again ended up a dozen seats short of the 170-mark in the 338-member House of Commons. The Liberals have 158 seats now.
Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party (NDP) will again hold the balance of power as it increased its tally from 24 in the 2019 elections to 25.
With 119 seats, the Conservative Party failed to touch its tally of 121 seats in the dissolved House.
Among the 17 Indo-Canadian winners are Jagmeet Singh, former minister Tim Uppal and three Cabinet ministers Harjit Sajjan, Bardish Chagger and Anita Anand.
Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan retained his Vancouver South seat by beating Sukhbir Gill of the Conservative party.
Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity, too retained her Waterloo seat as did Public Service Minister Anita Anand her Oakville seat.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh got re-elected from Burnaby South in British Columbia.
In British Columbia, three-time Liberal Party MP Sukh Dhaliwal retained Surrey-Newton by beating Avneet Johal of the NDP. Two-time Liberal Party MP Randeep Singh Sarai also won the Surrey Centre seat by beating Sonia Andhi of the NDP. Parm Bains became the third Indo-Canadian MP from British Columbia after winning the Steveston Richmond East riding.
In Quebec, the sitting MP Anju Dhillon retained her Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle seat.
In Alberta, Jasraj Singh Hallan retained the Calgary Forest Lawn seat. But Conservative MP Jag Sahota lost to fellow Indo-Canadian George Chahal of the Liberal Party in Calgary Skyview. Former Conservative minister Tim Uppal is back again by winning from Edmonton Mill Woods. Uppal is the brother-in-law of Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantt, Pargat Singh.
In Ontario, Brampton again re-elected all the four sitting Indo-Canadian MPs – Maninder Sidhu, Ruby Sahota, Sonia Sidhu and Kamal Khera – against fellow Indo-Canadians Naval Bajaj, Medha Joshi, Ramandeep Brar and Gurprit Gill respectively.
Liberal MP Chandra Arya too retained the Napean seat in Ontario.
Lawyer Iqwinder Gaheer, who won the Mississauga-Malton seat for the Liberal Party, will be one of the youngest MPs to go to the House of Commons.
Sitting Conservative Party MP Bob Saroya lost this time from Markhan-Unionville.
