&w=3840&q=100)
Punjabis in the House: A record to cheer in Canada
A record 22 Punjabi-origin candidates were elected to Canada's House of Commons in the 2025 federal election. Among them, Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal won a sixth term, sparking celebrations in his native village in Punjab. Read on for more details. read more
22 Punjabi-origin candidates secured seats in Canada's House of Commons in the 2025 election.
Punjab's Sujapur village erupted in celebration on Tuesday (April 29) as native son Sukh Dhaliwal secured his sixth term in Canada's federal elections. Contesting on a Liberal Party ticket, Dhaliwal won from Surrey Newton, defeating Conservative candidate Harjit Singh Gill.
The 64-year-old businessman-turned-politician is among 22 Punjabi-origin candidates elected to the Canadian House of Commons this year. The Liberal Party, which emerged victorious in the federal polls, fielded several candidates of South Asian and Punjabi descent, reflecting the growing influence of the diaspora in Canadian politics.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Dhaliwal, who earlier represented Newton—North Delta, has now retained Surrey Newton for the third consecutive time after wins in 2011, 2015, and 2019.
Back in his native Sujapur village in the Jagraon region of Ludhiana, the mood was jubilant. Locals danced to dhol beats, burst crackers, and distributed sweets in celebration. His elder brother credited the win to Dhaliwal's deep connection to his roots and regular visits to the village.
Gurcharan Singh Grewal, general secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Dhaliwal's former classmate, expressed pride over the win. 'He has always stayed close to the people of the village. It's a proud moment for all of us,' he said.
Two more candidates from Punjab's Moga district—Amanpreet Singh Gill (Calgary Skyview) and Sukhman Gill (Abbotsford–South Langley), both Conservatives—also emerged victorious, prompting celebrations in their respective hometowns.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and AAP MLA from Moga Amandeep Kaur Arora congratulated the winners, expressing hope for stronger diplomatic and cultural ties between India and Canada.
Other prominent Punjabi-origin winners in the election include:
Anita Anand (Liberal, Oakville East), Bardish Chagger (Liberal, Waterloo), Anju Dhillon (Liberal, Dorval–Lachine), Randeep Sarai (Liberal, Surrey Centre), Dalwinder Gill (Conservative, Calgary McKnight), Arpan Khanna (Conservative, Oxford), Tim Uppal (Conservative, Edmonton Gateway)
Reacting to the results, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami called the victories 'a matter of great pride' for the Sikh and Punjabi communities globally. He attributed the success to the candidates' hard work, honesty, and humanitarian values, and urged them to uphold Sikh principles while serving in office.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Dhami also extended congratulations to the Liberal Party and its leader Mark Carney, commending their inclusivity and diverse representation.
A record 22 Punjabi-origin candidates were elected as Members of Parliament in the 2025 Canadian federal election, the highest ever, up from 20 in 2019 and 17 in 2021.
These winners represent both major parties: 12 are Liberals and 10 are Conservatives, showing strong cross-party support from the Punjabi community.
Out of 65 Punjabi-origin candidates who contested (across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba), the successful MPs include 6 women and 6 turbaned Sikh men, reflecting the community's diversity.
Key results include:
* NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, one of the most prominent Punjabi-Canadian politicians, lost his seat in Burnaby Central and announced he will step down as party leader.
* Liberal minister Kamal Khera lost her Brampton West seat to Conservative Amarjit Gill.
* Liberal ministers Anita Anand (Oakville East) and Bardish Chagger (Waterloo) retained their seats.
* Conservative Tim Uppal held on to his Edmonton Gateway seat.
* Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal was re-elected in Surrey-Newton.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
This election marks a milestone for the Punjabi diaspora's influence in Canadian politics, with their largest-ever representation in Parliament.
(Input from other agencies)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
In a big u-turn, UK restores winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners
The United Kingdom is set to make winter fuel payments to millions of older people during the 2025 winter season. This decision comes on Monday, June 9, as a major U-turn of unpopular cuts after months of political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer . After assuming office in July 2024, Starmer's Labour government cut winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners in England and Wales as part of wider spending reductions. The government made the move, stating that they were necessary to fix a hole in the public finances left by the previous Conservative administration. The move was reversed on Monday, June 9. It will restore those payments to 9 million pensioners, excluding only 2 million who earn above 35,000 pounds ($47,495) from the 200-300 pounds subsidy for heating bills in the colder months, as reported by news agency Reuters. Speaking about the decision to reverse last year's move, Reeves stated that it was right to continue excluding wealthier pensioners from the payment and that last year's "difficult decisions" had been justified. Live Events "Because of those decisions, our public finances are now in a better position, which means that this year we're able to pay the winter fuel payment to more pensioners," she told reporters. How much u-turn will cost UK govt The U-turn is set to cost the government 1.25 billion pounds ($1.69 billion), and means-testing of the payment will save around 450 million pounds. According to the Treasury, the move would not lead to permanent additional borrowing, with funding details to be set out at a budget later in 2025. Starmer signaled last month that he would reverse the cuts. The cuts had meant that around 85% of pensioner households that received the payments lost the benefit, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank.
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Lop Partap Singh slams AAP of sidelining Punjabis, calls Sugarfed recruitment policy deceitful
CHANDIGARH: Senior Congress leader and opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday slammed the AAP government in Punjab, accusing it of a 'deliberate and deceitful attempt' to sideline the Punjabi language and deprive local youth of job opportunities in the recruitment for 166 posts in Sugarfed Punjab. Bajwa claimed that the AAP government initially attempted to dilute the requirement of Punjabi language proficiency by allowing candidates who hadn't passed Punjabi in Matric to appear for the examination, on the condition that they clear a basic Punjabi test during their three-year probation. "It was a clear attempt to recruit non-Punjabis by stealth. Only after a massive public outcry and media backlash did the government take a panicked U-turn and declare Punjabi compulsory again. This is not governance, it's deceit,' Bajwa said. He accused the AAP government of trying to sneak in policies that betray Punjab's linguistic and cultural ethos, only to reverse course when caught red-handed. 'This pattern has become a hallmark of the AAP regime, quietly undermining Punjab's interests, then staging a course correction to save face,' Bajwa stated.
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
TSX falls as tech shares weigh; eyes on US-China trade talks
June 9 - Canada's main stock index fell on Monday, dragged by technology shares, as investors cautiously monitored a fresh round of U.S.-China trade talks aimed at easing tensions between the world's largest economies. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.3% at 26,346.82 points, coming off its record high close on Friday. All eyes are on the high-stakes talks in London, where top U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting to defuse tensions that recently expanded beyond tariffs to export controls over goods and components critical to global supply chains. "I would say there is an undercurrent of caution," said Brian Madden, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at First Avenue Investment Counsel. "There's lots of sort of arm waving about trade phone calls, but trade deals take a long time to negotiate, so I don't think anyone is expecting a miracle here in the short term between the U.S. and China". The discussions follow a rare call last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday Canada's Liberal government will pour extra billions into its armed forces and hit NATO's 2% military spending target this fiscal year, five years earlier than promised. Jet maker Bombardier and aviation simulation and training company CAE gained 2.7% and 0.8%, respectively. The broader industrial sector, however, fell 0.5%. Information and technology shares were leading the losses on the TSX, with enterprise software solutions provider Enghouse Systems falling 2.4% as brokerage CIBC cut the price target on the stock. Heavyweight materials sector was trading in green with 0.2% gains as gold and silver prices rose in the day. Among other stocks, uranium supplier Cameco jumped 9.6% to the top of the benchmark index after a number of analysts raised the stock's price target. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
