Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal (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.
After the leadership election, he became the first person of a visible minority to become the permanent leader of a major federal political party.
Biography
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. He started his career as a criminal defense lawyer.
Singh was first elected in the 2011 Ontario provincial election. He represented the ONDP. 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.
Political views
Singh has branded himself a progressive and a social democrat. Singh supports LGBTQ rights.