A record 15 Indo-Canadians were elected to Canada’s British Columbia legislature as the Conservatives swept to power in the provincial election and defeated the New Democratic Party (NDP). South Asians account for 9.6% of British Columbia’s population, according to the 2021 census.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the mid-term election as he sought a stronger majority on the back of his opposition to US President Donald Trump’s policies targeting Canada. The election call backfired. On Sunday, he announced his resignation as NDP leader.
The other NDP winners are Ravi Parmar, a minister in the government, from Langford-Highlands and Rohini Arora from Burnaby East. He added they rejected the ultra-right wing and the Left-leaning NDP.
Sameer Kaushal, editor of the Surrey-based outlet NewsDerby, said a majority of Indo-Canadians voted for the Conservatives. “The only option was the centrist BC Conservatives,” he said, as they addressed issues, including affordability and infrastructure. Kaushal said there was also sentiment against Eby calling snap elections, as it was seen as opportunistic.
