Jagmeet Singh

Jagmeet Singh is the Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP in Canada. Mr Singh is campaigning for the prime minister's post for the third time. His party NDP had emerged the fourth largest party in Canada in the previous election. For a century and a half, Canada's major political parties were led only by white politicians. That changed in 2017, when Jagmeet Singh became the first person of colour to lead a major federal party, winning the NDP leadership on the first ballot.

Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal was born in Scarborough, Ontario, the eldest of three children to Indian immigrants Harmeet Kaur and Jagtaran Singh. His father, a doctor and psychiatrist, moved the family to St John's, Newfoundland, for schooling before they eventually settled in Windsor, Ontario.

Singh grew up across three cities - Scarborough, St John's and Windsor. His childhood, though financially comfortable, was marked by challenges. In his memoir 'Love & Courage', Singh revealed difficult experiences, including living with an alcoholic father, facing racism and bullying and being sexually abused by a taekwondo instructor as a young boy.

A practising Sikh, he graduated from Western University and later earned a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

He went on to work as a criminal defence lawyer in Brampton, Greater Toronto Area. He first worked at the law firm Pinkofskys. He later co-founded Singh Law with his brother Gurratan Singh.

His legal work, focused on Charter rights, sparked his interest in politics.

Jagmeet Singh also offered pro bono support to activists protesting the visit of Indian politician Kamal Nath, over his alleged links to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. When their concerns went unheard, Singh decided to run for office to give them a voice.

In 2011, Jagmeet Singh entered politics and was elected as a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario, where he served until 2017. He was the first turbaned Sikh to hold such a position in the province.

His presence and progressive politics quickly gained attention. In 2012, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada honoured him for breaking barriers. That same year, the Toronto Star named him one of the city's top personalities to watch. GQ later praised him, saying, "Jagmeet Singh looks the way you hope a progressive politician would."

In 2015, Singh was appointed Deputy Leader of the Ontario NDP.

On October 1, 2017, he made history by becoming the first person from an ethnic minority to lead a major federal party in Canada, winning the leadership of the New Democratic Party (NDP). He did not hold a seat in the House of Commons.

In 2019, he won a federal by-election for the Burnaby South constituency in British Columbia. In his first federal election as party leader, the NDP secured 24 seats, a drop from the 44 seats won in 2015 under Thomas Mulcair.

While Singh lost the 2019 race for prime minister, he remains the leader of the New Democratic Party and a powerful voice in Canadian politics. Some news publications even called him "Justin Trudeau's Worst Nightmare."

In the 2021 Canadian federal election, Jagmeet Singh once again ran as the leader of the NDP. While the party slightly increased its share of the popular vote and won one more seat than in 2019 - going from 24 to 25 seats - Singh was unable to lead the NDP to a major breakthrough. He lost the race for prime minister again.

Jagmeet Singh married Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu in February 2018. Gurkiran is an entrepreneur and humanitarian, and she played a supportive role in his rise as the Leader of Canada's NDP. They have two daughters, Anhad and Dani.

The NDP leader spent most of his early political life lobbying the Ontario government to recognise the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India as an act of genocide. In 2015, he attended a rally in San Francisco where pro-Khalistan slogans were raised. The rally stage featured a large poster of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was regarded by the Indian government as a terrorist. Jagmeet Singh has been denied a visa to India in the past over his sympathy and support to the so-called 'Khalistan' separatist agenda.