It was a night of firsts! A record 22 out of 65 Punjabi candidates in the federal race have secured seats in Canada’s House of Commons, as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party staged a remarkable comeback on Tuesday.
Punjabi-Canadians, a vital part of Canada’s South Asian population, stood out in this election. While 18 and 20 Punjabi MPs were elected in 2021 and 2019, respectively, this time, 16 incumbents re-contested. Many of them faced fellow Punjabi challengers in tightly contested direct showdowns.
Brampton saw five victories by Punjabi-origin politicians
In Brampton, Punjabi candidates secured five seats. Liberal Ruby Sahota triumphed over Conservative Amandeep Judge in Brampton North, while fellow Liberal Maninder Sidhu defeated Conservative Bob Dosanjh in Brampton East. In Brampton Centre, Liberal Amandeep Sohi beat Conservative Taran Chahal. On the Conservative side, Sukhdeep Kang unseated Liberal Sonia Sidhu in Brampton South, and Amarjeet Gill defeated sitting minister Kamal Khera in Brampton West.
Other prominent Liberal winners of Punjabi origin include:
- Anita Anand (Oakville East)
- Bardish Chagger (Waterloo)
- Anju Dhillon (Dorval—Lachine)
- Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey Newton)
- Iqwinder Singh Gaheer (Mississauga—Malton)
- Randeep Sarai (Surrey Centre)
- Gurbax Saini (Fleetwood—Port Kells)
- Param Bains (Richmond East—Steveston)
The Conservative Party saw significant representation from Punjabi-origin candidates this election, and here's the list.
Punjabi-origin Conservative MPs elected this cycle include:
- Jasraj Hallan (Calgary East)
- Dalwinder Gill (Calgary McKnight)
- Amanpreet Gill (Calgary Skyview)
- Arpan Khanna (Oxford)
- Tim Uppal (Edmonton Gateway)
- Parm Gill (Milton East)
- Sukhman Gill (Abbotsford South–Langley)
- Jagsharan Singh Mahal (Edmonton Southeast)
- Harb Gill (Windsor West)
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, known for his pro-Khalistan stance, suffered a crushing defeat in Burnaby Central. He was placed third with less than 19% of the vote, behind the Liberal candidate, Wade Chang, and the Conservative candidate, James Yan. The loss seemed to come as part of a wider collapse for his party. It was projected to win only seven seats, far below the 25 it held after the 2021 election. Nationally, the party's vote share collapsed to 6%, down from 18%.
The Liberals, under new leader Mark Carney, are set to govern. However, they may need to ally with smaller parties; only then do they win an outright majority.
Canrney's history is optimistic, as he had a steady hand during the Bank of Canada's financial crisis of 2008-09 and in the UK through Brexit (he was crucial in reshaping voter confidence).
An important shift came after Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on January 6, that's when the Liberals trailed the Conservatives by more than 20 points over growing discontent over inflation and leadership fatigue.