16 Punjabis win office in Canadian federal election

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Proving their popularity with voters, 17 Indian-origin politicians were elected in this week’s Canadian federal election, 16 of which are Punjabis, Indian media reported Wednesday.

One, Jagmeet Singh, was re-elected in the province of British Columbia and maintains his role as leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

The party placed fourth in the election, with 25 becoming Members of Parliament (MPs) and taking seats in the Canadian House of Commons behind the winning Liberals (158 seats) headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Conservative Party (119). The Bloc Quebecois captured 34 seats, but it only runs candidates in Quebec and its stated goal is to represent the interests of the francophone province.

The Indo-Canadian MPs are from various parties, including 14 Liberals, two Conservatives and Singh.

Three Liberal Cabinet ministers were returned to office – Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion Bardish Chagger and Minister of Public Services, Procurement and Receiver General Anita Anand, the India Tribune reported.

Besides Chagger and Anand, three other Punjabi women won re-election – Anju Dhillon, Ruby Sahota and Sonia Sidhu.

Of the Punjabis, 14 were returned to office, while two – George Chahal and Iqwinder Singh – were elected for the first time.