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For the first time, Punjabis of Indian origin have got a large amount of representation in the ministry of British Columbia province of Canada. Punjabis have shown their potential in British Columbia.
The new government of the New Democratic Party in this state has taken charge of the 41-member ministry under the leadership of Prime Minister David Abiy. David Eby is the 37th Chief Minister of the province of British Columbia. 23 Cabinet Ministers, 4 Ministers of State and 14 Parliamentary Secretaries have been appointed in the new government. Of the twenty-seven cabinet and state ministers, 11 are men and 16 are women. For the first time, women have been given more representation than men in the government of British Columbia. David AB’s ministry is dominated by Punjabis of Indian origin. Punjabis have been honored by giving them the responsibility of important departments.
Prominent Punjabi of Indian origin Nikki Sharma has been made the Deputy Chief Minister. Nikki Sharma is the first Punjabi in the history of Canada to become the Deputy Chief Minister of a Canadian province. Earlier, Indian-origin Punjabi Ujjal Dusanjh was the Chief Minister of British Columbia in 2002. In the new cabinet, 4 cabinet ministers and 4 parliamentary secretaries of Indian/Punjabi origin have been appointed. The 8 ministers of Indian/Punjabi origin include 5 women and 3 men. In the October 2024 elections, the NDP won 47 seats out of the 93-member Assembly, securing a majority.
The Conservative Party won 44 seats. 15 Indians/Punjabis won these elections. Every sixth member of the Legislative Assembly is of Indian origin. The four cabinet ministers include Nikki Sharma, Jagroop Singh Brar, Ravinder Singh Ravi Kahlon, Ravi Parmar and the parliamentary secretaries include Jaspreet Kaur Jaycee Sunnar, Sunita Dheer, Harvinder Sandhu and Amana Shah from Lahinde Punjab, Pakistan.
According to the 2021 population census in Canada, approximately 9 lakh 50 thousand Punjabis/Sikhs of Indian origin live in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. There is a population of 3 lakh 15 thousand Punjabis/Sikhs in the province of British Columbia. Nikki Sharma’s father Paul Sharma’s background is from Ludhiana, but Nikki Sharma was born in Canada. He is a second-time MLA from Vancouver-Hasting. After becoming an MLA for the first time, she became a minister in the British Columbia government and served as Attorney General. This time also he has been made Attorney General. Jagroop Singh Brar was the Minister of State in the first government. This time he has been promoted and made a cabinet minister. He has been made the Minister of Mining and Important Minerals Department. He is a native of Deon village in Bathinda district. Jagroop Singh Brar has become MLA for the 7th time from Surrey-Fleetwood constituency. He is a national player of basketball and due to his abilities, the aroma of Bathinda’s hills is spreading in the state of British Columbia which is being enjoyed by the Canadian citizens. Ravinder Singh ‘Ravi Kahlon’, resident of Bhagowal village of Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur district, has been made the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. Ravi Singh Parmar, resident of Jangiana village near Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district, has been made the Minister of Forest Department. Among Parliamentary Secretaries, Sunita Dheer, born in Jagraon town of Ludhiana district and first time MLA from Vancouver-Langara constituency, has been made Parliamentary Secretary for her international reputation.
Jaspreet Kaur Jaycee Sunnar, a prominent human rights lawyer and first-time MLA from Surrey-Newton, daughter of Sunnar Kalan, a village near Nurmahal in Jalandhar district, has been made parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives. Harvinder Kaur Sandhu, a native of Jora village of Zira tehsil of Firozpur district, has been made the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture. She was elected MLA for the second time from Vernon-Monashree constituency. Lahinde Punjab’s Aamna Shah, who won from Surrey-City Centre, has also been made Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Addiction. Thus, every sixth minister in David Abiy’s government is a Punjabi of Indian origin. Born in Gahor village of Ludhiana district, Raj Chauhan won the election from Burnaby-New West constituency and has been winning the election continuously since 2005. He is expected to be elected Speaker as he was also the Speaker in the previous David AB government. For the first time, Indians/Punjabis/Sikhs have created history by winning 15 seats in the 43rd Legislative Assembly elections of British Columbia.
He had never won so many seats before. According to the 2021 census, Indians/Punjabis/Sikhs constitute only 3 percent of the population in the province of British Columbia, while they have won 16 percent of the seats in the Legislative Assembly. Jagmeet Singh is the President of the New Democratic Party of Canada. 100 Punjabis/Sikhs contested the elections from NDP and Conservative Party, 15 of them won their respective seats. Among these, 11 candidates of NDP and 4 candidates of Conservative Party have won the elections. Of the 15 winning MLAs, 7 are men and 8 are women. There is no country in the world where there are no Punjabis/Indians. They are making very important contributions there.
Canada has the largest number of people of Indian origin/Punjabi in the world. Punjabis have made great progress in the development of Canada. From time to time, various Canadian leaders have acknowledged the fact that Indians, especially Punjabis, have contributed greatly to the progress of Canada. Punjabis/Sikhs have always played a role in Canadian politics. Even the Canadian federal government has Punjabi/Indian ministers in important departments. Indians and Punjabis have made a unique contribution in strengthening the Canadian economy.