Ruby Sahota[2] PC MP (born June 22, 1979)[3][4] is a Canadian Liberal politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal riding Brampton North during the 2015 Canadian federal election.[5][6]

Ruby Sahota
Chief Government Whip
Assumed office
January 8, 2024
Interim: January 8, 2024 – July 9, 2024
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded bySteven MacKinnon
Member of Parliament
for Brampton North
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byRiding established
Personal details
Born (1979-06-22) June 22, 1979 (age 45)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseTejinder Sahota
Children1
ResidenceBrampton[1]
Alma materMcMaster University (BA)
Western Michigan University (JD)
ProfessionAttorney
Websitersahota.liberal.ca

Early life and education

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Sahota was born in Toronto after her parents arrived in Canada from Punjab, India in the late 1970s,[7] and was raised in Brampton. Her father previously was the Chairman of the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council.[8]

Sahota attended Brampton's Central Peel Secondary School from 1993 to 1998, and then graduated with an Honours bachelor's degree in Political Science and Peace Studies at McMaster University in 2003.[9] She then attended Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, graduating in 2007.

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From 2007 to 2012, Sahota practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio, focusing on commercial litigation.[10][11] She became a lawyer after.

Political career

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Sahota sought the Liberal nomination for the newly created riding of Brampton North, winning it on March 1, 2015.[12]

The general election campaign involved some controversy, as Sahota's campaign criticized leaflets circulated by her opponent, Conservative incumbent Parm Gill, which it was alleged were deliberately aimed at confusing Sahota with previous Liberal Party MP Ruby Dhalla.[13] Sahota defeated Gill to win the election.

Once elected, Sahota was appointed to both the Standing Committee on the Status of Women and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. She was subsequently named to the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. On February 1, 2017, she was elected Chair of the Federal Liberal Ontario Caucus by her peers. As Caucus Chair, she presides over meetings, leads discussions, and is an important link between Ontario Liberal MPs and the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet.

Sahota was appointed interim Chief Government Whip on January 8, 2024, replacing Steven MacKinnon while he was appointed interim Government House Leader while Karina Gould was on maternity leave. MacKinnon was promoted to Minister of Labour on July 9, 2024 making Sahota's appointment as whip permanent.[14]

Personal life

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She is married to podiatrist Dr. Tejinder Sahota and has a son named Nihal.

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ruby Sahota 22,976 53.87 +2.44
Conservative Medha Joshi 13,292 31.16 +3.49
New Democratic Teresa Yeh 6,386 14.97 -1.92
Total valid votes 42,654
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 42,654 56.61 -8.58
Eligible voters 75,344
Source: Elections Canada[15]
Liberal hold Swing -0.53
2019 Canadian federal election: Brampton North
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ruby Sahota 25,970 51.42 +3.05 $76,162.12
Conservative Arpan Khanna 13,973 27.67 -5.32 $100,060.30
New Democratic Melissa Edwards 8,382 16.90 +0.40 $17,829.85
Green Norbert D'Costa 1,516 3.00 +1.10 $0.00
People's Keith Frazer 510 1.01 none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 50,502 99.03
Total rejected ballots 496 0.97
Turnout 50,998 65.19
Eligible voters 78,229
Liberal hold Swing +4.11
Source: Elections Canada[16][17]
2015 Canadian federal election: Brampton North
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ruby Sahota 23,297 48.37 +20.21 $136,386.70
Conservative Parm Gill 15,888 32.99 -15.88 $194,312.26
New Democratic Martin Singh 7,946 16.50 -2.34 $78,854.84
Green Pauline Thornham 915 1.90 -1.78 $146.44
Communist Harinderpal Hundal 120 0.25
Total valid votes/expense limit 48,166 100.00   $206,076.29
Total rejected ballots 318 0.66
Turnout 48,484 66.13
Eligible voters 73,321
Liberal notional gain from Conservative Swing +18.05
Source: Elections Canada[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Alumni Elected Officials | WMU Cooley Law School Western Michigan University]
  3. ^ Sahota, Ruby (June 22, 2016). "Ruby Sahota on Twitter: "Thanks for the birthday wishes & cake #TeamSahota - They are truly amazing individuals working hard for #Brampton"". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "Meet the candidates: Ruby Sahota is the Liberal party candidate for Brampton North". Brampton Guardian. September 1, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Liberal Ruby Sahota wins in Brampton North". San Grewal. Toronto Star. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  6. ^ "19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canadian parliament". The Economic Times. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Debates (Hansard) No. 30 - March 10, 2016 (42-1) - House of Commons of Canada". www.parl.gc.ca.
  8. ^ "'Captain's allegations against Canadian minister baseless'". indianexpress.com. 17 April 2017.
  9. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rubysingh [self-published source]
  10. ^ "Benchmark | Summer 2016". issuu.com. issuu. July 24, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  11. ^ Ruby Sahota Biography, Liberal.ca.
  12. ^ Another Ruby wins Liberal nomination for Brampton North, Can-India News, March 5, 2015.
  13. ^ Althia Raj, Ruby Sahota, Liberal Candidate, Incensed At Tory Parm Gill's Name Game, The Huffington Post, August 24, 2015.
  14. ^ "Brampton MP Ruby Sahota named government whip in Liberal cabinet adjustment". InSauga. January 9, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  15. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  16. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  17. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  18. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Brampton North, 30 September 2015
  19. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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