Jagmeet Singh

Canadian politician, leader of the New Democratic Party

Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal[2] MP (born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. He is the leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada right now. He became the leader in 2017. He used to be a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2011 to 2017. He represented the electoral district of Bramalea—Gore—Malton.[3]

Jagmeet Singh

Jagmeet Singh at the 2nd National Bike Summit in Ottawa in 2018
Singh in 2018
Leader of the New Democratic Party
Assumed office
October 1, 2017
DeputyDavid Christopherson
Alexandre Boulerice
Sheri Benson
Preceded byTom Mulcair
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Burnaby South
Assumed office
March 17, 2019
Preceded byKennedy Stewart
Deputy Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party
In office
April 20, 2015 – May 16, 2017
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Preceded byMarilyn Churley
Succeeded bySara Singh
John Vanthof
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Bramalea—Gore—Malton
In office
October 6, 2011 – October 20, 2017
Preceded byKuldip Kular
Succeeded byLast member
Personal details
Born
Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal

(1979-01-02) January 2, 1979 (age 45)
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic
Other political
affiliations
Ontario New Democratic
Spouse(s)
Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu
(m. 2018)
RelativesGurratan Singh (brother)
ResidenceBurnaby, British Columbia, Canada[1]
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario (BSc)
York University (LLB)
OccupationLawyer, politician
Websitendp.ca/jagmeet

After the leadership election, he became the first person of a visible minority to become the permanent leader of a major federal political party.[4]

Biography

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Jagmeet Singh was born on January 2, 1979 in Scarborough, Ontario. His parents were Harmeet Kaur and Jagtaran Singh, who both came from the state of Punjab in India.[5] He started his career as a criminal defense lawyer.

Singh was first elected in the 2011 Ontario provincial election. He represented the ONDP.[6] In 2015, he became the Deputy Leader of the Ontario New Democrats under Andrea Horwath until 2017.

Singh announced he would run for leadership of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada to replace Tom Mulcair which he won. He did not have a seat in the House of Commons until March 2019. This was when he won a seat in Burnaby South, British Columbia in a by-election.[7]

Political views

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Singh has branded himself a progressive and a social democrat.[8] Singh supports LGBTQ rights.[9]

References

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  1. "NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh campaigns in Montreal ahead of tough byelection fight". Cbc.ca. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  2. Raj, Althia (January 1, 2017). "Jagmeet Singh Is A Young, Photogenic, Confident Politician. Sound Familiar?". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  3. "Riding results from across Canada". Edmonton Journal. May 3, 2011. p. A6. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. Austen, Ian (October 1, 2017). "Sikh Becomes Canada's First Nonwhite Political Party Leader". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  5. "Punjab village celebrates its son Jagmeet Singh's success in Canadian politics". Hindustan Times. October 3, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  6. "VIDEO: Ontario NDP's Singh throws heck of a victory rally". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 7, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  7. Ghoussoub, Michelle (February 25, 2019). "NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wins federal seat in high-stakes Burnaby South byelection". CBC News. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  8. "Ontario politician Jagmeet Singh launches bid for federal NDP leadership". The Globe and Mail. May 15, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  9. "NDP leadership hopeful Jagmeet Singh pledges to support homeless LGBT youth". Xtra. August 25, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.

Other websites

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