South Asians have shaped the diverse Canadian society integrally and the political prominence of our community grew much stronger today as four members of Indian origin were sworn in to Justin Trudeau's new cabinet.
Navdeep Bains from Ontario is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Bains, an accountant and financial analyst, served as the MP for Mississauga-Brampton South from 2004 to 2011. A full video of his oath can be seen here.
Navdeep Bains
Photo Credit: www.bramptonguardian.com
Harjit S. Sajjan from B.C. has been named Minister of National Defence. He is a decorated Lt. Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, deployed three times to Afghanistan and once to Bosnia. Watch him speak about his forthcoming role in the Canadian Parliament.
Harjit Sajjan (L)
Photo Credit: www.cbc.ca
Amarjeet Sohi from Alberta is the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. He is a former political prisoner, actor, playwright, human rights activist, VP of Alberta Union Municipalities Association and Edmonton city councillor. The video of his oath can be viewed here.
Amarjeet Sohi
Photo Credit: www.cbc.ca
Bardish Chagger from Ontario is part of the gender-balanced cabinet as a Minister of Small Business and Tourism. Chagger has worked as an executive assistant to former Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi and also as a special events coordinator at the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre. Here is a video of Chagger being sworn in today.
Bardish Chagger
Photo Credit: www.cbc.ca
In addition to these star candidates, we are also extremely proud of those who showed promising success in the federal election this year. A total of 23 South Asians won seats, which is more than double of the number in 2011. Of these, 20 are Punjabi-speaking, making Punjabi the third most common language in the House of Commons after English and French.
Three Punjabi-Speaking MPs (L-R): Sukh Dhaliwal, Anju Dhillon and Deepak Obhrai
Photo Credit (L-R): www.wikipeedia.org, www.voiceonline.com and www.pm.gc.ca
We applaud the achievements of our Indo-Canadian community members and wish them all the best for their tenure.
Main Image Photo Credit: www.macleans.ca
Sonia Malik
Author
Sonia writes on current affairs and pop culture. An English graduate from the University of Toronto, she identifies as a global citizen, feminist and nature lover. She will be ready to shake a leg to a peppy Bollywood beat any day.
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