Sikh man becomes first minority politician to lead major party in Canada

[RISING SUN]

Sikh man becomes first minority politician to lead major party in Canada
Mr. Singh, who has penchant for colourful turbans, is the first member of a minority community to lead a major federal political party. A 38-year-old Sikh lawyer was on Sunday elected the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, becoming the first non-white politician to head a major political party in the country.

Jagmeet Singh, the Ontario provincial lawmaker, was elected on the first ballot to lead the party into the 2019 election against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

He won the decisive first-ballot victory over three other candidates by receiving 53.6 % of the vote.

“Thank you, New Democrats. The run for Prime Minister begins now,” he tweeted after the victory.

“That’s why today, I’m officially launching my campaign to be the next Prime Minister of Canada,” he added.

Mr. Singh, who has penchant for colourful turbans, is the first member of a minority community to lead a major federal political party.

He now has the difficult task of rebuilding the party that lost 59 seats in the 2015 election.

“This race has renewed excitement in our party,” Singh said, calling the win an “incredibly profound honour”.

The New Democratic Party is currently at the third place in Canada’s Parliament, with 44 of 338 seats. The party has never held power.

In the 2011 general election, the party made historic gains only to lose almost a million votes — mostly to Trudeau’s Liberals — four years later.

Mr. Singh said he would focus on issues of climate change, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, and electoral reform, The Globe and Mail reported.

He has received attention for his sharp style.

Earlier this year, he told the American magazine how his personal style, which includes brightly coloured turbans and well-cut suits, became part of his political brand.

During the leadership campaign, he raised far more money than his competitors did and he said he believes he can continue that success as Leader.

Born in 1979 in Scarborough, Ontario, to immigrant parents from Punjab, Singh grew up in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and Windsor, Ontario.

He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario in 2001 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School in 2005.

He worked as a criminal defence lawyer in the Greater Toronto Area before entering politics.

Sikhs account for roughly 1.4 per cent of Canada’s population. The country’s defence minister is also from the community.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...ead-major-party-in-canada/article19783982.ece

 

[Max]

Congratulations.

 

[RISING SUN]

Jagmeet Singh becomes first Sikh politician to lead Canada’s major New Democratic Party
The 38-year-old lawyer, Jagmeet Singh, made history on Sunday as he became the first person belonging to a visible minority group, and obviously the first of Indian and Sikh heritage, to be elected leader of one of Canada’s three largest national political parties.

It was a whopping win, and a landslide. As the first ballot results were announced at the Metropolitan Ballroom in the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto, Jagmeet Singh easily garnered votes, surpassing the 50% required to win the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

He will now captain the NDP in the next federal election to be held in October 2019.

In his acceptance speech, Singh described his win as “an incredibly profound honour”. He also announced the beginning of the 2019 race to lead Canada, as he said, “Canadians deserve a government that understands the struggles that people are facing right now. Most importantly, Canadians deserve a government that gets the job done. That’s why today I’m officially launching my campaign to be the next prime minister of Canada.”

Cheers and applause broke out among NDP members who had gathered at the venue for the announcement of the result. Four candidates were in the race for the leadership, but as the numbers for the first three were announced, it became obvious Singh had managed to gather well over the percentage needed to prevent another round of balloting, which was scheduled for October 8.

In the end, of the nearly 66,000 votes cast, Singh tallied more than 35,000, almost three times the total for the runner-up, Ontario MP Charlie Angus, who had 12,705 votes.

Jagmeet Singh with his mother Harmeet Kaur (Centre) and father Jagtaran Singh (Left) during the announcement of the leader of the leftist New Democrat party in Toronto on Sunday. (AP Photo)
Singh, who was denied a visa by India in December 2013 and has been critical of the Narendra Modi government, is a member of the Ontario provincial parliament, representing Bramalea-Gore-Malton.

This was his maiden foray into federal politics. Since his constituency lies in a suburb of Toronto, the majority of those packing the hall appeared to be his supporters, who waved the orange placards bearing the slogan, “Love & Courage”, the theme of his campaign.

He reiterated it while speaking after winning the vote, as he said his vision offered “the courage to fight the politics of fear, a politics of love to fight the growing politics of division”.

Singh attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, talking about job insecurity and accusing him of being someone who had only looked at “employment as a hobby”.

He also spoke of prevalent racism, underscoring exactly how momentous this victory was: “Growing up with brown skin, long hair and a funny sounding name meant I faced some challenges. I’ve been stopped by the police multiple times for no other reason than the colour of my skin.”

Singh’s supporters were understandably ecstatic. His brother, Gurratan Singh, who played a key role in the campaign, told the Hindustan Times this was “the accumulation of all our work and the real hard work starts right now.”

Among those who were in the hall was 18-year-old Harman Kaur, a student at the University of Ottawa, who had traveled from the Canadian capital to Toronto specially for this event. “I’m so excited, I just had to be here,” she said.

Another supporter Sukhminder Singh Hansra was delighted, declaring, “It is an historic day for diversity, multiculturalism and especially for the Sikh community in Canada.”

Gurmeet Kaur said the community would need to “work hard” to ensure Singh became the next prime minister of Canada, while her husband Manjeet Singh Bhinder pointed out he had been “101%” certain even before the results were declared that Singh would emerge on top.

Singh, who was born in Scarborough in Toronto, was joined on the stage by his family, including his parents Harmeet and Jagtaran Singh, sister Manjot Kaur and brother Gurratan Singh.

Singh will be in Ottawa on Monday as he meets with party MPs and the NDP leadership to chart out the course for the national campaign. He will face the challenge of making the NDP, the third party in Canadian politics, a credible choice for 2019.

But he noted his campaign had achieved this win in the few months since he announced his leadership run, and added, “Imagine what we can build together in two years.”

Among the challenges he faces is having people pronounce his name correctly, as he told one person, “Jag as in hug”.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...ratic-party/story-GYam4rzzdMVaDRHC2Y312M.html

 

[Sugarcane]

Is it good news for India?

 

[doppelgängerr]

Is it good news for India?

But they don't know his dad and he is pro-Khalistani.

 

[RISING SUN]

Is it good news for India?

Why it shouldn't be? Canada is a friendly country.

But they don't know his dad and he is pro-Khalistani.

He has his duty to his people first and foremost and that is Canadian, not Indian. We have emotional connection with all people who are of Indian origin no matter where they are. Thank you.

 

[doppelgängerr]

He has his duty to his people first and foremost and that is Canadian, not Indian. We have emotional connection with all people who are of Indian origin no matter where they are. Thank you.

But he wants to liberate his original motherland Punjab as Khalistan.

 

[hussain0216]

Confirmed khalistani

Bad times of india?

 

[agamdilawari]

But he wants to liberate his original motherland Punjab as Khalistan.

You know that right that concept of Khalistan includes Punjabi region of Pakistan as well ?

 

[doppelgängerr]

You know that right that concept of Khalistan includes Punjabi region of Pakistan as well ?

No they are demanding only Sikh dominated Indian Punjab.

 

[livingdead]

good for canada.... not so good for india...

 

[hussain0216]

You know that right that concept of Khalistan includes Punjabi region of Pakistan as well ?

Pakistan's punjab is near 100% muslim and islamic

Khalistani's want india out a free sikh khalistan and want Pakistani support and continued good will to trade and give access to birthplace of Guru nanak

 

[pakdefender]

Canadian Sikhs are pro Khalistan , this is bad for india

 

[RISING SUN]

But he wants to liberate his original motherland Punjab as Khalistan.

You are telling me that that he wanted to liberate Punjab yet he applied for visa??? Where has sense gone these days? Thank you.

Canadian Sikhs are pro Khalistan , this is bad for india

Same was exaggerated for Current defense minister as well, happens all over the world. Nothing new in exaggeration. Thank you.

 

[Flash_Ninja]

You are telling me that that he wanted to liberate Punjab yet he applied for visa??? Where has sense gone these days? Thank you.


Same was exaggerated for Current defense minister as well, happens all over the world. Nothing new in exaggeration. Thank you.

http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-sikhs-air-mixed-views-on-ndps-jagmeet-singh

"Dosanjh finds Singh “evasive,” for instance, about whether he supports Sikh separatists who want to create a theocracy in Khalistan, in the Punjab region of India.

As a lawyer, Singh has a history of defending militants fighting for a separate Sikh homeland, said Dosanjh, who noted India has refused to give Singh a visa because of it.

When asked about Khalistan, Singh acknowledges he supports “the right to self-determination,” Dosanjh said. But the former B.C. politician noted most social democrats are secularists who have no interest in a theocratic state.

As an Ontario NDP MPP, Singh also pushed successfully for Ontario’s Liberal government to declare that anti-Sikh riots in 1984 were an Indian-government-organized “genocide.” But human rights specialists and Jewish scholars insist they amounted to a lesser crime, a “pogrom.”"