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Gagan Sikand

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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 (age 39)
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

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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

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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

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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

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  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] (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.
  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
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