Toronto: Shortly after Justin Trudeau-led Liberals ended the 10 year rule of the Conservative party, around 19 Canadians of Indian origin have been elected to the Canadian Parliament. The highest ever presence of MPs with Indian roots in the House of Commons of Canada, 17 of them are believed to be of Punjabi origin. Indo-Canadians make up for over 3 per cent of the Canadian population which is about 35 million.
Punjabis played an important role in helping the Liberals go past the 170 mark needed for a simple majority. Among the sitting MPs, Conservative Deepak Obhrai from Calgary Forest Lawn, Alberta, was the only Punjabi-origin candidate to retain his seat. “I have a strong record both as a representative of the constituency as well as working in government, and in the opposition, over the years I have been in Parliament,” Obhrai, who won the seventh term, said. Amarjit Sohi of the Liberals, who won by mere 80 votes said, “This victory is about inclusion, cohesiveness, where we build strong communities. Canada is where someone like me can come from somewhere else, build a new life, raise a family and contribute back so immensely.”
Other Liberal Indo-Canadians who won include, Navdeep Bains from Mississauga-Malton in Toronto, Gagan Sikand from Mississauga Streetville, Raj Saini from Kitchener Centre, Bardish Chagger from Waterloo and Bob Saroya of Conservative from Markham- Unionville.
Compared to the 24 candidates of Punjabi-origin in the previous general elections in 2011, this time 43 were in the fray, including one independent. There were 11 constituencies where Punjabi-origin candidates from either of the three main parties, Liberal, Conservative and NDP, were pitted against each other.
In the 2011 federal polls, there wasn't a single Punjabi-origin candidate of the Liberal party who made it to parliament. From just 36 in 2011, Liberals have 184 MPs in a house of 338 this time.
