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
editSikand 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
editIn 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] (14 June 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