Bal Gosal
Baljit Singh Gosal ਬਲਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਗੋਸਲ | |
|---|---|
| File:BalGosal.jpg | |
| Minister of State for Sport | |
| In office May 18, 2011 – November 4, 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper |
| Preceded by | Gary Lunn |
| Succeeded by | Carla Qualtrough |
| Member of Parliament for Bramalea—Gore—Malton | |
| In office May 2, 2011 – October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Gurbax Singh Malhi |
| Succeeded by | Riding Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Baljit Singh Gosal May 4, 1960 ratainda, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, Punjab, India |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Pawanjit Gosal |
| Profession | Insurance broker |
Baljit Singh Gosal (Punjabi: ਬਲਜੀਤ ਗੋਸਲ; born May 4, 1960) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election.[1] He represents the electoral district of Bramalea—Gore—Malton as a member of the Conservative Party, and served as Minister of State (Sport) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[2] Gosal was one of five Visible Minorities serving in the Harper Ministry in Cabinet. He was defeated by Liberal candidate Ramesh Sangha in the 2015 election.
Early life
Born in India, Gosal immigrated to Canada in 1981 settling in Northern British Columbia.[3] Soon after, he moved to Brampton with his wife, Pawanjit.[3] His formal education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from DAV College Jalander/Punjab University India in 1981 and a Stationary Engineer 4th class Certificate. Gosal began working in the financial sector first in 1984 for McDonnell Douglas Canada and later in 1994 for Prudential Insurance, which later became London Life. In 2004 Gosal joined Goodison Insurance and Financial Services and in 2008 he joined Rai Grant insurance brokers where he worked as an Insurance Broker and a Financial Security Advisor.[3]
2011 election
In the 2011 election Gosal defeated long-time Liberal Member of Parliament Gurbax Singh Malhi and future NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal in a close three-way race.
Parliamentarian
As Minister of State for Sport, Gosal was the Minister responsible for Canada at the 2012 summer Olympics in London and lead the Canadian delegation to the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics. On June 29, 2012, Gosal announced the endorsement of all Canadian provincial ministers responsible for sport of the New Canadian Sport Policy.[4]
According to a social media analysis, Bal Gosal was one of Canada’s most active MPs on Twitter.[5]
Background
An active member of the Brampton community, Gosal had been a member of the Peel Regional Police Services Board, Peel Children’s Aid Society and on the Brampton Board of Trade Marketing Committee.[6] He also has coached and organized amateur soccer and volunteered at the YMCA.[3] Gosal served as the Treasurer and founding member of the Ontario Federation of Sports and Cultural Organization, and as the Director, past Secretary, and Treasurer of the Ontario Khalsa Darbar Sports and Cultural Centre.[3] He and his wife have three children.[7]
Controversy
During the 2015 federal election, three volunteers from Bal Gosal's campaign team were caught on video, destroying campaign signs for opposition candidates, prompting Liberal candidate Ramesh Sangha to file a complaint with Peel Regional Police and Elections Canada.[8] In a written statement, the Gosal campaign stated that it admonished the actions of the videotaped volunteers and had dismissed them from the campaign.[9]
Electoral record
Brampton Centre
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Ramesh Sangha | 19,277 | 48.8% | |||||
| Conservative | Bal Gosal | 13,345 | 33.8% | |||||
| New Democratic | Rosemary Keenan | 5,893 | 14.9% | |||||
| Green | Saul Marquard T. Bottcher | 844 | 2.1% | |||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Frank Chilelli | 173 | 0.4% | |||||
| Turnout | 39,532 | 61.16% | ||||||
Bramalea—Gore—Malton
| 2011 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Bal Gosal | 19,907 | 34.44% | -2.68% | – | |||
| New Democratic | Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal | 19,368 | 33.51% | +24.49% | – | |||
| Liberal | Gurbax Singh Malhi | 16,402 | 29.40% | -15.65% | – | |||
| Green | John Moulton | 1,748 | 3.02% | -2.14% | – | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Frank Chilelli | 371 | 0.64% | +0.02% | ||||
| Total valid votes | 57,796 | 100.00% | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | – | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | – | – | – | – | ||||
Source: Elections Canada
| 2006 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Colleen Beaumier | 27,988 | 49.1 | +4.7 | ||||
| Conservative | Bal Gosal | 20,345 | 35.7 | -4.3 | ||||
| New Democratic | Jagtar Singh Shergill | 6,310 | 11.1 | +0.6 | ||||
| Green | Jaipaul Massey-Singh | 2,340 | 4.1 | +0.7 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 56,983 | 100.0 | ||||||
References
- ^ Election 2011: Bramalea—Gore—Malton. The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2011.
- ^ The Ministry - Prime Minister of Canada
- ^ a b c d e About- Bal Gosal http://www.balgosal.com/?page_id=2
- ^ https://twitter.com/BalGosal/status/218071702695985152
- ^ http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/01/07/mps-tweet-big-but-fall-short-on-social/
- ^ The Canadian Ministry http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/bio.asp?id=98
- ^ http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1307462014191/1307464332128
- ^ Fraser, Laura (16 October 2015). "Brampton Liberals file police complaint alleging Conservatives broke signs". CBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ Belgrave, Roger (16 October 2015). "VIDEO: Conservative volunteers booted after election signs toppled". Brampton Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
External links
- 1960 births
- Living people
- Canadian Sikhs
- Conservative Party of Canada MPs
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
- Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
- People from Brampton
- Indian emigrants to Canada
- Members of the 28th Canadian Ministry
- People from Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district
- Canadian politicians of Indian descent