Summary
Kamalpreet Khera PC MP (born February 4, 1989) is a Canadian politician who has been the minister of diversity and inclusion, and persons with disabilities since July 26, 2023.[2] A member of the Liberal Party, Khera was elected to represent the riding of Brampton West in the House of Commons following the 2015 federal election. She also served as minister of seniors from October 26, 2021 to July 2023.
Kamal Khera | |
|---|---|
 Khera in 2021 | |
| Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities | |
| Assumed office July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Ahmed Hussen (Diversity and Inclusion) Carla Qualtrough (Persons with Disabilities) |
| Minister of Seniors | |
| In office October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Deb Schulte |
| Succeeded by | Seamus O'Regan |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development | |
| In office August 31, 2018 – January 31, 2021 | |
| Minister | Karina Gould |
| Preceded by | Celina Caesar-Chavannes |
| Succeeded by | Maninder Sidhu |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue | |
| In office January 30, 2017 – August 31, 2018 | |
| Minister | Diane Lebouthillier |
| Preceded by | Emmanuel Dubourg |
| Succeeded by | Deb Schulte |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health | |
| In office December 2, 2015 – January 27, 2017 | |
| Minister | Jane Philpott |
| Preceded by | Cathy McLeod |
| Succeeded by | Darren Fisher |
| Member of Parliament for Brampton West | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Kyle Seeback |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 4, 1989[1] Delhi, India |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | York University (BSN) |
| Occupation |
|
Career edit
Kamal Khera is a registered nurse. She attended York University where she earned an Honours Bachelors of Science in Nursing. Prior to politics, she worked as a registered nurse in the oncology unit at St. Joseph's Health Centre Toronto.[3]
Federal politics edit
Khera was nominated as the Liberal Party's candidate in Brampton West in December 2014, and won the seat in the federal election in the following October.[4][5][6] When first elected in 2015, Khera was the youngest Liberal MP in the House, and the second-youngest overall behind the NDP's Pierre-Luc Dusseault.[7] She was re-elected in the 2019 federal election,[8] and in 2021.
Parliamentary Secretary
On December 2, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Khera as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, then as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue (January 2017 – August 2018) and from August 2018 to January 2021, Khera served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development.[9]
Khera stepped down from her role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development in January 2021, after having travelled to Seattle in December for a memorial service for her uncle.[10]
On September 20, 2021, Khera was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Brampton West.
Minister of Seniors
On October 26, 2021, Khera was promoted to the position of Minister of Seniors in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. She is amongst the youngest members of the cabinet and the Privy Council of Canada.[11]
Minister of Diversity and Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities
On July 26, 2023, Khera was appointed to the position of Minister of Diversity and Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities. She succeeds Ahmed Hussen as Minister of Diversity and Inclusion, and Carla Qualthrough as Minister of Persons with Disabilities.[2] In this role, she continues the government’s work on designing and rolling out the Canada Disability Benefit which will lift thousands of working aged persons with disabilities out of poverty.
Electoral record edit
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Brampton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kamal Khera | 25,780 | 55.3 | +1.8 | $107,717.96 | |||
| Conservative | Jermaine Chambers | 13,186 | 28.3 | +4.4 | $33,421.74 | |||
| New Democratic | Gurprit Gill | 6,097 | 13.1 | -5.3 | $0.00 | |||
| People's | Rahul Samuel Zia | 1,218 | 2.6 | +1.7 | $0.00 | |||
| Independent | Sivakumar Ramasamy | 328 | 0.7 | N/A | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,609 | 99.2 | – | $115,623.57 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 390 | 0.8 | ||||||
| Turnout | 46,999 | 54.3 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,557 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -1.3 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[12] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Brampton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kamal Khera | 28,743 | 53.5 | -2.39 | $109,585.64 | |||
| Conservative | Murarilal Thapliyal | 12,824 | 23.9 | -6.21 | $110,270.48 | |||
| New Democratic | Navjit Kaur | 9,855 | 18.4 | +5.96 | $74,444.87 | |||
| Green | Jane Davidson | 1,271 | 2.4 | +0.85 | $683.08 | |||
| People's | Roger Sampson | 505 | 0.9 | $3,955.00 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Paul Tannahill | 319 | 0.6 | none listed | ||||
| Communist | Harinderpal Hundal | 97 | 0.2 | $476.56 | ||||
| Canada's Fourth Front | Anjum Malik | 69 | 0.1 | $0.00 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 53,683 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 735 | |||||||
| Turnout | 54,418 | 62.6 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,912 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +1.91 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13][14] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Brampton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kamal Khera | 24,256 | 55.89 | +19.81 | $186,667.41 | |||
| Conservative | Ninder Thind | 13,068 | 30.11 | -11.90 | $179,464.92 | |||
| New Democratic | Adaoma Patterson | 5,400 | 12.44 | -7.18 | $29,137.39 | |||
| Green | Karthika Gobinath | 674 | 1.55 | -0.02 | $702.19 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 43,398 | 100.00 | $203,918.62 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 245 | 0.56 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 43,643 | 61.70 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,734 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +15.86 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[15][16] | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ "David Akin 🇨🇦 on Twitter: "Happy 30th birthday to Brampton West MP @KamalKheraLib 1"". twitter.com. Twitter. February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ^ a b "The Honourable Kamal Khera". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
- ^ "Kamal Khera". Prime Minister of Canada. 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
- ^ Liberals find candidate in Brampton West for next federal election, The Brampton Guardian, December 10, 2014.
- ^ Liberal Kamal Khera wins Brampton West, The Brampton Guardian, October 20, 2015.
- ^ "19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canadian parliament". The Economic Times. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ John Paul Tasker, Meet the Class of 2015: Notable Rookies headed to Parliament Hill, CBC.ca, October 22, 2015.
- ^ Gamrot, Sabrina (21 October 2019). "Brampton West re-elects Liberal Kamal Khera". The Brampton Guardian. Brampton ON: Metroland Media Group. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ She was later appointment parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Revenue (2016-2018) and in September 2018,she was appointed parliamentary secretary to the minister of International Development.[1]
- ^ DeClerq, Katherine (3 January 2021). "Brampton West MP to step aside from parliamentary role after travelling to U.S. for memorial". CTV News. Toronto ON. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "The Honourable Kamal Khera". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Brampton West, 30 September 2015
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
External links edit
- Kamal Khera – Parliament of Canada biography
- Official Website