Salma Zahid edit
Salma Zahid MP is an English-born Pakistani-Canadian politician, who was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal riding of Scarborough Centre during the 2015 Canadian federal election[1]. She succeeded the Conservative Roxanne James after winning the 2015 Canadian federal election[2].
Early life and career edit
Zahid was born in Coventry, England[3]. She holds a Master's Degree in Business Management from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan and another Master's Degree in Educational Management from the University of London in England[4]. She is Pakistani Canadian, mother of two sons and has resided in Scarborough since 2000[5]. Zahid started a home catering business when she first moved to Canada and understands the struggles that many immigrants in Scarborough Centre face, as she also experienced the transition of moving to Toronto[6]. When Zahid and her husband first moved to Canada, they struggled with finances and employment, as their educational background did not make up for the lack of Canadian experience[4]. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal[7]. Zahid has triple citizenship in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan[3]. Zahid is proud that Parliament reflects the diverse population of Canada as there are no rules surrounding multiple citizenships to be a Member of parliament[3].
Zahid was a community organizer and worked for the Government of Ontario in multiple positions before joining politics. [8] Zahid first decided to join her son's school council, which led to advocating against the cuts to education at the time[4]. Zahid worked part-time for George Smitherman who was the Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) and Smitherman eventually became her political mentor[4]. Zahid worked for Smitherman until 2010[4].
Political career edit
42nd Canadian Parliament edit
Zahid was elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election as a Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre (electoral district). During the 42nd Parliament, Zahid had many roles and was involved in multiple committees[9]. Zahid had the role of Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, where she was a spokesperson for racialized women[8]. Zahid was a member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, where she advocated for efficient customer service and family reunification[8]. Zahid was also a member of other committees such as Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Scrutiny of Regulations, and Public Accounts[9]. As a Member of Parliament, Zahid worked to designate the month of June as Filipino Heritage Month, which was unanimously passed by the House of Commons of Canada[8].
In February 2018, Zahid announced that she was taking medical leave to treat her Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This was used by the Scarborough Centre Conservative Party of Canada Riding Association Vice President to sell memberships via robocall[10]. While recovering from chemotherapy treatment, Zahid wore a hijab for personal reasons, saying that she had grown closer to her Islamic faith while facing cancer. In May 2018, she became the first MP to wear a hijab in the House of Commons[11]. Zahid received both positive and negative reactions to the hijab, and she responded with encouragement for diversity in Canada[11]. In July 2018, after completing six rounds of chemotherapy, Zahid became cancer-free and returned to her job[10].
43rd Canadian Parliament edit
Zahid was re-elected in Scarborough Centre (electoral district) for the Liberal Party in the 2019 Canadian federal election[1]. During the 2019 campaign, Zahid's team knocked on every door in the riding at least once[12]. This was the first time that Zahid campaigned since being diagnosed with lymphoma[12].
As part of the Liberal Party of Canada, Zahid is pro-abortion and in favour of euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the inclusion of gender identities to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination[13].
2015 Election results edit
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Salma Zahid | 22,753 | 50.5 | +18.61 | $111,259.09 | |||
| Conservative | Roxanne James | 14,705 | 32.7 | -2.18 | $96,481.13 | |||
| New Democratic | Alex Wilson | 5,227 | 11.6 | -19.06 | $24,264.68 | |||
| Libertarian | Katerina Androutsos | 1,384 | 3.1 | $1,452.03 | ||||
| Green | Lindsay Thompson | 960 | 2.1 | -0.47 | $1,627.92 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 45,029 | 100.00 | +22.33 | $203,985.80 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 407 | 0.90 | +0.33 | |||||
| Turnout | 45,436 | 64.36 | +10.02 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,594 | +0.46 | ||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.39% | ||||||
Source(s) | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ a b Canada, Elections. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". enr.elections.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
- ^ "Liberal candidate Salma Zahid wins Scarborough Centre". Toronto Star. October 19, 2015.
- ^ a b c Harris, Kathleen (2017-12-10). "As Australia ousts MPs with dual citizenship, Canada's Parliament embraces many in its ranks". CBC. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e "MBE Business Magazine". www.mbeforyou.com. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "Two Pakistani women emerge victorious in Canadian general elections". ARY News. October 20, 2015.
- ^ Adler, Mike (2015-10-20). "SCARBOROUGH CENTRE: Liberal Salma Zahid defeats Conservative incumbent Roxanne James". Toronto.com. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
- ^ "Scarborough area Liberal MPs endorse John Tory".
- ^ a b c d "Biography | Salma Zahid | Your member of parliament for Scarborough Centre". szahid.liberal.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
- ^ a b "Roles - Salma Zahid - Current and Past - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
- ^ a b Aiello, Rachel (August 22, 2018). "'A new low': Conservative robocall tries to exploit Liberal MP's cancer diagnosis". CTV News. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ a b Massa, Ginella (August 21, 2018). "Scarborough MP responds to criticism over wearing hijab, says she's recovering from cancer". CityNews Toronto. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "5 Women On What It's Really Like To Run In The Canadian 2019 Election". www.chatelaine.com. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ Coalition, Campaign Life. "MP Salma Zahid - Scarborough Centre - Voting Records - Campaign Life Coalition". https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
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