Gagan Sikand
Member of Parliament
for Mississauga—Streetsville
In office
October 19, 2015 – September 19, 2021
Preceded byBrad Butt
Succeeded byRechie Valdez
Personal details
Born (1984-11-21) November 21, 1984
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)Mississauga, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Brunel Law School
ProfessionLawyer, businessman, politician

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.

Background

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

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

2019 Canadian federal election: Mississauga—Streetsville
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalGagan Sikand29,61850.4+2.56$84,567.48
ConservativeGhada Melek19,47433.1-7.3$69,794.85
New DemocraticSamir Girguis6,03610.3+1.3$12,072.67
GreenChris Hill2,6884.6+2.29$1,396.80
People'sThomas McIver7061.2$0.00
Animal ProtectionNatalie Spizzirri2430.4$1,762.35
Total valid votes/expense limit 58,765100.0
Total rejected ballots 437
Turnout 59,20267.6
Eligible voters 87,557
Liberal hold Swing +4.93
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalGagan Sikand26,79247.8+12.81–
ConservativeBrad Butt22,62140.4-5.72–
New DemocraticFayaz Karim5,0409.0-6.0–
GreenChris Hill1,2932.3-1.36–
Christian HeritageYegor Tarazevich2530.5––
Total valid votes/Expense limit 55,999100.0   $219,652.47
Total rejected ballots 217––
Turnout 56,21667.6%–
Eligible voters 83,122
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +9.26%
Source: Elections Canada[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ Forani, Jonathan (October 20, 2015). "Riding returns to red roots after blue run". Toronto Star. p. GT2.
  3. ↑ "Canada Votes". The Toronto Star. October 20, 2015. pp. GT13–GT15.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Colpitts, Iain (October 20, 2015). "Sikand in, Butt out of Mississauga Streetsville". The Mississauga News. Metroland Media.
  6. ↑ "Gagan Sikand - Member of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada".
  7. ↑ "Gagan Sikand". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  8. ↑ O'Malley, Kady (March 3, 2016). "Everything you need to know about the first batch of bills from the backbench". National Post.
  9. ↑ "An Act to amend the Criminal Code (passive detection device)". Parliament of Canada. February 26, 2016.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "M-103 passed March 23 and Jewish groups express misgivings about the motion". The Canadian Jewish News. 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  12. ↑ Callan, Isaac (24 February 2021). "Mississauga–Streetsville MP absent from Parliament since October on long-term medical leave".
  13. ↑ Newport, Ashley (16 August 2021). "Sitting Mississauga MP says he won't be seeking re-election". insauga.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  16. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Mississauga—Streetsville, 30 September 2015
  17. ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.