Raj Chouhan makes history as he becomes the first person of Indian origin to be elected as Speaker anywhere in the world outside of India
The Canadian Bazaar
VANCOUVER: Raj Chouhan, who took oath as Speaker of British Columbia province in Canada on Monday, has become the first Indian to be elected to this post anywhere outside of India.
Chouhan, who came to Canada from Gauhar village near Ludhiana in 1973, served as deputy speaker in the outgoing provincial assembly the elections for which were held last month.
Chouhan was elected for the fifth time on the ticket of his New Democratic Party (NDP) which retained power with 57 seats in the 87-member House.
“It is difficult to describe how thrilled I am with this honour. The feeling has yet to sink in,” Chouhan said.
“This is the first time that an Indian-origin person – and a Punjabi and a Sikh – has been elected to this post anywhere in the world outside of India (maybe except the Caribbean). It is a great honour and I am humbled,” he said.
“When I landed in this country in 1973, I never imagined that one day I will contest elections because we were such a small community and there was so much racism in those days. I have reached this milestone because the pioneers of our community paved the way for us,” Chouhan said.
Known as a fierce advocate for equality, Chouhan is the founder of the Canadian Farmworkers’ Union. He has also been associated with the Hospital Employees Union in British Columbia.
Apart from Chouhan, the British Columbia Cabinet also has four Indo-Canadian ministers – appointed last week by Premier John Horgan.
While Harry Bains has been appointed the minister of labour, Ravi Kahlon will serve as the new minister of jobs and economic recovery. Two other MLAs – Rachna Singh and Nikki Sharma – have been appointed parliamentary secretaries.
In all, eight Indo-Canadians were elected as MLAs last month.
Indo-Canadians make up about 10 percent of British Columbia’s population of about 3.5 million.
Chouhan’s appointment as the Speaker today is one of the many milestones created by the Indo-Canadian community in British Columbia. It was this province that elected Canada’s first-ever non-white Premier – Ujjal Dosanjh – in February 2000.
It was also in this province that Moe Sihota became the first-ever Indian-origin MLA – elected in 1986 – in Canada and the whole western world.
READ ALSO: 8 Indo-Canadians elected as MLAs in British Columbia
