Summary
Gagan Sikand is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga—Streetsville from 2015 to 2021. He served as a member of the Liberal Party.
Gagan Sikand | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Mississauga—Streetsville | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – September 19, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Brad Butt |
| Succeeded by | Rechie Valdez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 21, 1984 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Mississauga, Ontario |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto Brunel Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer, businessman, politician |
Background edit
Sikand attended the University of Toronto. He completed an Honours B.A. with a double major in crime and deviance and philosophy with a minor in anthropology. He obtained an LLB Law degree from Brunel Law School in London, England.[1] He worked for the provincial office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.[2] Born in Toronto, he has lived in Mississauga for over 30 years and in the riding of Mississauga-Streetsville for 29 years.
Politics edit
In the 2015 federal election, Sikand ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville. He defeated Conservative incumbent Brad Butt by 4,171 votes.[3][4][5] He was a backbench supporter of the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He sat on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament.[6] On April 18, 2018 he was named Co-Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament.[7]
On February 26, 2016, he introduced a Private Member's Bill that would allow police to use a device that could detect the presence of alcohol for a car driver without having to administer a breathalyzer test.[8] As of September 21, 2016, the bill has passed first reading and is being consider by the house.[9]
On June 13, 2016 he was named Caucus Liaison for the Ontario Young Liberals.[10]
In 2017, Sikand abstained during the vote for Motion 103 to condemn Islamophobia. All other Liberal MPs present voted in favor of the motion.[11]
On October 20, 2020, Sikand took a medical leave of absence from Parliament, the leave was approved by the Chief Government Whip.[12]
On August 15, 2021, Sikand announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the next election.[13]
Electoral record edit
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Mississauga—Streetsville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gagan Sikand | 29,618 | 50.4 | +2.56 | $84,567.48 | |||
| Conservative | Ghada Melek | 19,474 | 33.1 | -7.3 | $69,794.85 | |||
| New Democratic | Samir Girguis | 6,036 | 10.3 | +1.3 | $12,072.67 | |||
| Green | Chris Hill | 2,688 | 4.6 | +2.29 | $1,396.80 | |||
| People's | Thomas McIver | 706 | 1.2 | $0.00 | ||||
| Animal Protection | Natalie Spizzirri | 243 | 0.4 | $1,762.35 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 58,765 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 437 | |||||||
| Turnout | 59,202 | 67.6 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 87,557 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +4.93 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gagan Sikand | 26,792 | 47.8 | +12.81 | – | |||
| Conservative | Brad Butt | 22,621 | 40.4 | -5.72 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Fayaz Karim | 5,040 | 9.0 | -6.0 | – | |||
| Green | Chris Hill | 1,293 | 2.3 | -1.36 | – | |||
| Christian Heritage | Yegor Tarazevich | 253 | 0.5 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,999 | 100.0 | $219,652.47 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 217 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 56,216 | 67.6% | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 83,122 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.26% | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[16][17] | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ "New Members of Council" (PDF). Milestones. College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario. March 2014. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015.
- ^ Forani, Jonathan (October 20, 2015). "Riding returns to red roots after blue run". Toronto Star. p. GT2.
- ^ "Canada Votes". The Toronto Star. October 20, 2015. pp. GT13–GT15.
- ^ Singh, Harpreet (October 20, 2015). "19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canadian parliament". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ Colpitts, Iain (October 20, 2015). "Sikand in, Butt out of Mississauga Streetsville". The Mississauga News. Metroland Media.
- ^ "Gagan Sikand - Member of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada".
- ^ "Gagan Sikand". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
- ^ O'Malley, Kady (March 3, 2016). "Everything you need to know about the first batch of bills from the backbench". National Post.
- ^ "An Act to amend the Criminal Code (passive detection device)". Parliament of Canada. February 26, 2016.
- ^ OntarioYoungLiberals [@OYLorg] (June 14, 2016). "A well deserved congratulations to MP @gagansikand, the OYL's new federal caucus liaison! We look forward to working with you! #onpoli" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "M-103 passed March 23 and Jewish groups express misgivings about the motion". The Canadian Jewish News. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ Callan, Isaac (24 February 2021). "Mississauga–Streetsville MP absent from Parliament since October on long-term medical leave".
- ^ Newport, Ashley (16 August 2021). "Sitting Mississauga MP says he won't be seeking re-election". insauga.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Mississauga—Streetsville, 30 September 2015
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
External links edit
- Official website
- Gagan Sikand – Parliament of Canada biography