Rameshwer Singh Sangha (born June 6, 1945) is a former Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Brampton Centre from 2015 to 2021. He was first elected in the 2015 federal election[2][3] and was re-elected in 2019.[4]
Ramesh Sangha | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Brampton Centre | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Riding established |
| Succeeded by | Shafqat Ali |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 6, 1945 India |
| Political party | Independent (since 2021) |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (2015–2021) |
| Residence | Brampton, Ontario[1] |
On January 25, 2021, Sangha was removed from the Liberal caucus based on accusations he made that multiple other Liberal MPs supported the Khalistan movement — allegations the Liberal Party deemed "baseless". He then sat as an independent in the House of Commons.[5] Sangha voiced these allegations publicly in a 2019 interview with the Punjabi-language channel 5AAB.[6] Mark Holland, the Government Chief Whip, issued a statement reading: "As we have made clear time and time again, we will not tolerate conspiracy theories, or dangerous and unfounded rhetoric about Parliamentarians or other Canadians. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for many Canadians to experience suspicions because of their background; we all know where this can lead."[5][7] He did not seek re-election in the 2021 federal election.
Electoral history edit
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Brampton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Ramesh Sangha | 18,771 | 47.21 | -1.43 | $84,508.26 | |||
| Conservative | Pawanjit Gosal | 10,696 | 26.90 | -6.77 | $102,185.61 | |||
| New Democratic | Jordan Boswell | 7,819 | 19.67 | +4.45 | $47,671.91 | |||
| Green | Pauline Thornham | 1,685 | 4.24 | +2.11 | $1,108.69 | |||
| People's | Baljit Bawa | 681 | 1.71 | $40,458.58 | ||||
| Marxist–Leninist | David Gershuny | 106 | 0.27 | $0.00 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 39,758 | 98.81 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 480 | 1.19 | ||||||
| Turnout | 40,238 | 59.27 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 67,890 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +2.67 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[8][9] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Brampton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Ramesh Sangha | 19,277 | 48.64 | +23.29 | $120,004.74 | |||
| Conservative | Bal Gosal | 13,345 | 33.67 | -12.73 | $183,194.43 | |||
| New Democratic | Rosemary Keenan | 5,993 | 15.12 | -8.08 | $33,702.51 | |||
| Green | Saul Marquand T. Bottcher | 844 | 2.13 | -2.32 | $144.64 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Frank Chilelli | 173 | 0.44 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 39,632 | 100.00 | $199,305.79 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 264 | 0.66 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 39,896 | 61.72 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 64,640 | |||||||
| Liberal notional gain from Conservative | Swing | +18.01 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[10][11] | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Liberal Ramesh Sangha wins Brampton Centre". Sandro Contenta. Toronto Star. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canadian parliament". The Economic Times. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ Bond, Meredith (October 21, 2019). "Federal election results: Who won in Toronto and the GTA?". CityNews. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ a b Jones, Ryan Patrick. "Brampton MP Ramesh Sangha dropped from Liberal caucus, accused of spreading 'baseless and dangerous' claims". CBC News. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
- ^ Blackwell, Tom (September 3, 2019). "Liberal backbencher accuses his own government of 'pandering' to Sikh separatists". National Post. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- ^ MacCharles, Tonda (January 25, 2021). "Brampton Centre MP ousted by Liberals for making 'baseless and dangerous accusations' against Navdeep Bains". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Official Voting Results". Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Brampton Centre, 30 September 2015
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine