Summary
Rana Bokhari (born October 23, 1977) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada who was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 2013 until 2016.
Rana Bokhari | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party | |
| In office October 26, 2013 – September 24, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Jon Gerrard |
| Succeeded by | Judy Klassen (interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 23, 1977 Anola, Manitoba, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Background edit
Bokhari was born on a farm near Anola, Manitoba.[1] As a student she attended the University of Manitoba where she obtained degrees in criminology and psychology. She then went on to complete a degree in law at Robson Hall, focusing on corporate commercial law. Bokhari was active in the Manitoba Law Students Association, serving as President in 2012.[2]
Bokhari moved to Pakistan in 2002, living there with her family until she returned to Winnipeg in 2006.[3] Her childhood home and family chicken farm were lost to a fire in 2012.[4]
Political career edit
After long-standing Manitoba Liberal Party leader Jon Gerrard resigned his position in 2013, Bokhari was the first person formally to declare her candidacy. She faced two opponents, Bob Axworthy and Dougald Lamont. During the party leadership contest, Bokhari was seen as an outsider. Although two of her relatives had stood as Liberal candidates at the previous provincial election, she had not previously had a profile in the provincial party. Despite this, she was endorsed by the Manitoba Senator Maria Chaput, the leading Liberal candidate from the 2011 elections, Paul Hesse and party Vice-President Robert Young. She won a first ballot victory by one vote, with 431 votes.
The victory made Rana Bokhari the youngest person ever to lead the Manitoba Liberals and the first Manitoban of South Asian descent to lead a political party in the province.[5]
She faced internal criticism from party members and former leadership challenger Bob Axworthy, who accused Bokhari of "purging" longtime Manitoba Liberal members as she solidified control of the party.[6] Party membership and fundraising struggled under Bokhari,.[7]
Bokhari committed to making Manitoba the "hub of something" in her year end interview with the Winnipeg Free Press. She explained "I want Manitoba to be the IT capital of this country or the innovation capital of this country."[8]
In 2014 Bokhari endorsed Winnipeg mayoral candidate Brian Bowman in the 2014 Winnipeg Municipal election.[9]
In the 2016 Manitoba general election Bokhari finished third in Fort Rouge, behind future Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew.[10] On May 7, 2016, Bokhari announced that she would not lead the party into the next election but would remain on as leader until her successor was chosen.[11] She ultimately resigned as leader, effective September 24, 2016, and opened a law practice, Bokhari, Smith and Walker, the same month.[12]
On May 31, 2022, Bokhari announced her intention to run for Mayor of Winnipeg in the city's 2022 civic election, which was held October 26, 2022.[13] She placed seventh, with 3.03% of the vote (5,900 votes).[14]
Electoral results edit
| 2016 Manitoba general election: Fort Rouge | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Wab Kinew | 3,360 | 37.63 | –13.32 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Audrey Gordon | 2,571 | 28.80 | +8.76 | ||||
| Liberal | Rana Bokhari | 1,792 | 20.07 | –2.92 | ||||
| Green | Grant Sharp | 983 | 11.01 | +5.60 | ||||
| Manitoba | Matthew Ostrove | 175 | 1.96 | – | ||||
| Communist | Paula Ducharme | 47 | 0.53 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | 8,928 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected and declined ballots | 125 | 1.38 | ||||||
| Turnout | 9,053 | 65.15 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 13,896 | |||||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | –11.04 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Manitoba[15][16] | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ Kusch, Larry (October 26, 2013). "New Manitoba Liberal leader Bokhari looks to get party in 'fighting form'".
- ^ "Robson Hall Overview 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- ^ Robson Hall Student Profiles "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Family loses barns, home to fire". CBC News. April 30, 2012.
- ^ Larry Kusch (October 27, 2013). "An 'emotional roller-coaster' for new Liberal leader". Winnipeg Free Press.
- ^ "Liberal Leader Faces More Internal Turmoil". CTV News. April 21, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Steve (May 14, 2014). "Rana Bokhari won Manitoba Liberal leadership with least donors - Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca". Global News.
- ^ Kusch, Larry (3 January 2015). "Jan 2015: In conversation with Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari". Winnipeg Free Press.
- ^ "Bowman sees momentum in new poll numbers". CTV News. October 5, 2014.
- ^ "Manitoba Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari loses bid for seat to NDP's Wab Kinew". CBC News. April 19, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ "Manitoba Liberal Party Leader Rana Bokhari to step down". CBC News. May 7, 2016.
- ^ Paul, Alexandra (24 September 2016). "Sep 2016: Ex-Grit leader Bokhari bids cheerful farewell to politics". Winnipeg Free Press.
- ^ Hirschfield, Kevin (May 27, 2022). "Former Liberal leader enters Winnipeg mayoral race - Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca". Global News.
- ^ "2022 Elections - Unofficial Results". October 26, 2022.
- ^ "Candidates: 41st General Election". Elections Manitoba. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "41st General Election Official Results" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
