Carney wins Canada poll; 22 Punjabis make it too
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has won the federal election, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fuelled by US President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.
An economist and political newcomer, Carney pulled it off despite predictions of a Conservative landslide earlier this year. Of the 343 seats, the Liberals have won 168, Conservatives 144, Bloc Québécois 23, NDP seven and Green Party one seat. A record 22 Punjabis, mostly Sikhs, too have been elected in the polls that were conducted on April 28. Eighteen Punjabis had won in 2021 and 20 in 2019. In Brampton, Punjabis have won five seats. Liberal Party’s Ruby Sahota, Maninder Sidhu and Amandeep Sohi defeated their Conservative rivals Amandeep Judge, Bob Dosanjh and Taran Chahal from Brampton North, East and Centre, respectively. Conservative candidates Sukhdeep Kang and Amarjeet Gill trounced Conservative candidates Sonia Sidhu and Kamal Khera (sitting minister) from Brampton South and West.
The prominent Liberal winners are Anita Anand from Oakvilla East, Bardish Chagger from Waterloo, Anju Dhillon from Dorwal Lachine, Sukh Dhaliwal from Surrey Newton, Iqwinder Singh Gaheer from Mississauga Malton, Randeep Sarai from Surrey Centre, Gurbax Saini from Fleetwood Port Kells and Param Bains from Richmond East Steveston.
Hoping to boost ties, Modi wishes PM
Looking forward to strengthening ties and unlocking greater avenues for people of the two nations. PM Modi
From the Conservative Party, Jasraj Hallan won from Calgary East, Dalwinder Gill from Calgary McKnight, Amanpreet Singh Gill from Calgary Skyview, Arpan Khanna from Oxford, Tim Uppal from Edmonton Gateway, Parm Gill from Milton East, Sukhman Gill from Abbotsford South Langley, Jagsharan Singh Mahal from Edmonton Southeast and Harb Gill from Windsor West. Hailing from Moga, Amanpreet Gill is a former president of the Gurdwara Dasmesh Culture Centre, Calgary.
However, in a major upset, New Democratic Party president and two-time MP Jagmeet Singh lost badly from Burnaby Central to Wade Chang of the Liberal Party. He stood a distant third. After his defeat, he also resigned as the NDP chief. While Jagmeet secured around 18.1 per cent of the vote, Chang received 42.1 per cent and Conservative candidate James Yan 38.7 per cent.
Health Minister and two-term MP Kamal Khera is another significant loser. Liberal candidate from Edmonton Southeast Amarjit Sohi, who had been serving as Edmonton Mayor since 2021, too lost. He had taken an unpaid leave from the city council to run for the federal election and had promised to return to his mayoral role if he lost.
Sohi, who lost to Conservative candidate Mahal, said “This is not the result we expected, but this is the result we accept. People make decisions. They elect you and sometimes they don’t. That is what democracy is.”
Anita Anand, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, won the third time and is likely to be get a cabinet role again. Anju Dhillon, a lawyer, became the first Indo-Canadian to win a seat thrice in the French-speaking province of Quebec. It was in 1993 that three Indo-Canadians were elected to Parliament for the first time. One of them was Gurbax Singh Malhi, the first turbaned Sikh MP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Carney on the victory and said he was looking forward to strengthening bilateral ties and unlocking greater opportunities for people of the two nations.
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