Canada: 15 Punjabi-origin candidates elected to British Columbia assembly as Conservatives sweep polls
The provincial election was held on October 24 for all 93 seats in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly.
PTC News Desk: Fifteen candidates of Punjabi origin have paved their way into the British Columbia provincial assembly, 12 of them Conservatives and three NDP, according to Canadian media reports.
The Conservatives made significant gains in Surrey, British Columbia, home to one of the largest Punjabi communities outside India, winning all 10 electoral ridings in the city.
“A blue wave has officially engulfed Surrey and White Rock,” the Surrey Now-Leader reported, highlighting the party’s sweep of the region.
Among the winners, Mandeep Dhaliwal retained Surrey North, a seat he won in 2024 by defeating NDP minister Rachna Singh. Harj Dhaliwal won Surrey-Newton, defeating incumbent NDP MLA Jessie Sunner and ending years of NDP control in the constituency.
Garry Purewal defeated NDP incumbent Jagrup Brar in Surrey-Fleetwood. Brar, who was born in Bathinda district in Punjab, had represented the constituency since 2004. In Surrey-Guildford, Garry Thind defeated incumbent NDP MLA Garry Begg. Thind had also won a school trustee seat in Surrey’s civic election a week earlier.
Zeeshan Wahla won Surrey City Centre in a close contest against the NDP’s Amna Shah, while Jessy Sahota secured victory in Surrey-Serpentine River.
Media reports also listed Harman Bhangu, Jody Toor, Steve Kooner, Monica Mohan, Pavneet Singh and Deep Sandhu among the Conservative winners. Raj Chouhan, Niki Sharma and Rohini Arora were named among the three NDP winners in the region.
The provincial election was held on October 24 for all 93 seats in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. NDP Premier David Eby called the election more than two years ahead of schedule. According to The Globe and Mail, with more than 99 per cent of polls counted, the Conservatives had secured 64 seats, compared with 27 for the NDP and two for the Green Party. CBC News reported that the result marked the Conservatives’ first majority government in British Columbia since 1928. Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said, “BC is definitely blue.”
Following the result, Eby resigned as NDP leader. CTV News quoted him as saying, “I accept full responsibility.”
Final results were expected in early November, meaning the seat distribution and the final number of elected candidates of Punjabi origin could still change.
List of 15 Punjabi-origin winners
Conservative Party of British Columbia — 12
1. Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal — Surrey North
2. Dr Harjit Taliwal — Surrey-Newton
3. Jessy Sahota — Delta
4. Garry Thind — Surrey-Guildford
5. Zeeshan Wahla — Surrey City Centre
6. Harman Bhangu — Langley-Abbotsford
7. Jody Toor — Langley-Willowbrook
8. Steve Kooner — Richmond-Queensborough
9. Garry Purewal — Surrey-Fleetwood
10. Monica Mohan — Delta North
11. Pavneet Singh — Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream
12. Deep Sandhu — Vancouver-Fraserview
New Democratic Party (NDP) — 3
13. Raj Chouhan — Burnaby-New Westminster
14. Niki Sharma — Vancouver-Hastings
15. Rohini “Reah” Arora — Burnaby East