Sikh lawyer becomes first turbaned MLA to be elected to British Columbia assembly

Aman Singh of National Democratic Party (NDP) became the first turbaned Sikh to have been elected to the province of British Columbia. Apart from the Harjit Sajjan in the House of Commons who later became Canada’s defence minister, a turbaned Sikh had never been elected in its own legislative assembly until October 24. At least eight Indo-Canadians made it to the 87-member Assembly of British Columbia province out of total 27 Indian-origin candidates took part in elections.

All eight members including Aman Singh belonged to NDP that secured a majority of 55 seats in the House and three of them are females. Aman Singh, the renowned human rights lawyer created history on Saturday night and became the first turbaned Sikh MLA in British Columbia. It was also the first province to have elected the first Punjabi, Moe Sihota as an MLA back in 1986 followed by a Sikh, Ujjal Dosanjh as Premier in 2001. Singh also caused a stir in Canadian politics as he defeated former journalist Jas Johal of the opposition Liberal Party in Richmond-Queensborough. It is a first for British Columbia as the majority of Indo-Canadians victories have been registered in the Indian-dominated city of Surrey.

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Aman Singh calls it ‘true honour’

Soon after the results were out, Aman Singh took to Twitter by thanking the voters that helped him to become an MLA in British Columbia. Calling it a “true honour” to have been able to stand for the people, Singh expressed gratitude towards his entire team that led his campaign. Singh was born in Hong Kong and was close to defeat Johal in 2017. Jas Johal, who defeated Singh by 134 votes, is a Sikh but does not sport a turban just like Ujjal Dosanjh. 

Other prominent names that were elected in the legislative assembly of Canada’s British Columbia include Labour minister harry Bains, deputy Speaker Raj Chuhan, former minister Jinny Sims and parliamentary secretaries Jagrup Brar and Ravi Kahlon. Bains managed to secure his seat in Surrey-Newton and defeated Punjabi Paul Boparai of the Liberal Party. Hailing from Hardaspur village near Jalandhar, Bains has been retaining hi seat since 2005. 

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