Sukh Dhaliwal

Sukh Dhaliwal
MP
Member of Parliament
for Surrey—Newton
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byJinny Sims
Member of Parliament
for Newton—North Delta
In office
January 23, 2006 – May 2, 2011
Preceded byGurmant Grewal
Succeeded byJinny Sims
Personal details
Born
Sukhminder Singh Dhaliwal

(1960-10-01) October 1, 1960 (age 64)
Sujapur, Punjab, India
Political partyLiberal
United Surrey
SpouseBalwinder "Roni" Kaur Dhaliwal
ResidenceSurrey, British Columbia
ProfessionBusinessman, politician

Sukhminder "Sukh" Singh Dhaliwal MP (born October 1, 1960) is a Canadian businessman and politician, who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Surrey—Newton since 2015. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Newton—North Delta from 2006 to 2011.

Early life

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Born to a Sikh family in Sujapur, Punjab, India, Dhaliwal emigrated from India in 1999 and became a Canadian citizen three years later. As a businessman, he co-founded a successful land surveying company and played an important role in the municipal politics of Surrey where he is said to have dominated the Surrey Electors Team membership list by signing up over 2,600 new party members. This represented over half the total number of members. However, in the November 1999 municipal elections, Dhaliwal lost his own bid for a seat on city council.

Federal politics

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Dhaliwal was the federal Liberal candidate for the Newton-North Delta riding in 2004, but lost to Conservative Gurmant Grewal by just over 500 votes. Grewal decided to not seek re-election and, in 2006, Dhaliwal faced Conservative newcomer Phil Eidsvik. The NDP was also strong in the riding and 2004 candidate Nancy Clegg also ran again. Dhaliwal succeeded in winning the seat by exactly 1,000 votes.

In the 2006 Liberal leadership campaign, Dhaliwal initially indicated support for Joe Volpe, but soon moved to support Michael Ignatieff. Dhaliwal was instrumental in building support for Ignatieff's campaign in the Sikh community. Dhaliwal played a key role in Ignatieff's short-lived, but successful, second leadership campaign in 2008.

Dhaliwal in 2008 had written to a U.S. District Court judge on official House of Commons stationery in support of convicted international drug trafficker Ranjit Cheema.[1]

On October 14, 2008, Dhaliwal was re-elected to Parliament by nearly 2,500 votes. Following the election, Dhaliwal was elected as the Chair of the Northern and Western Caucus of the Liberal Party, and served as the critic for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Dhaliwal has served on several House of Commons Committees: International Trade; Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities; and Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. The Ethics Committee attracted high-profile attention when it investigated allegations surrounding Karlheinz Schreiber’s dealings with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Dhaliwal lost his seat to Jinny Sims of the New Democratic Party in the 2011 federal election.

Dhaliwal was acclaimed as the candidate for the British Columbia Liberal Party for the 2013 provincial election. However, he later withdrew after he was charged with six counts of tax evasion related to a business he ran with his wife.[2][3] He pleaded guilty to three of the charges and was fined $3,000.[4]

In December 2014, Dhaliwal won the Liberal nomination in newly-formed riding of Surrey—Newton ahead of the 2015 election. He defeated NDP incumbent Jinny Sims and won the seat with 56 per cent of the vote.[5]

In 2021, in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre in India, 8 people died in a vehicle-ramming attack. Shaken by the video of the incident Dhaliwal called it a terror attack no different than London, Ontario truck attack.[6][7]

2024 controversy

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In August 2024, Dhaliwal sponsored a petition calling on the government to order a new inquiry into the Air India bombing, a terror act perpetrated by Sikh extremists, which killed 329 people, most of them Canadians. The petition promotes a discredited theory that the Indian government, as opposed to Canadian Sikhs, was responsible for the bombing. Two Canadian public inquires held Sikh extremists responsible for the act, and Talwinder Singh Parmar as the mastermind, in addition the CSIS and RCMP investigated the possibility of Indian government agents provoking the attack, but have since discarded the theory. Dhaliwal did not comment on whether he agreed or not with the petition's efforts or the conclusions reached by the two public inquires, stating: “This is their viewpoint, right — It’s a public viewpoint. All I’m doing is taking it forward.”[8]

The petition was drafted by Gurpreet Singh, a freelance journalist based in Surrey. Singh told The Globe and Mail that Dhaliwal's staff helped him draft and edit the petition.[9]

Electoral record

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2022 Surrey mayoral election
Party Mayoral candidate Vote %
  Surrey Connect Brenda Locke 33,311 28.14
  Safe Surrey Coalition Doug McCallum (X) 32,338 27.31
  Surrey First Gordie Hogg 24,916 21.05
  Surrey Forward Jinny Sims 14,895 12.58
  United Surrey Sukh Dhaliwal 9,629 8.13
  People's Council Surrey Amrit Birring 2,270 1.92
  Independent John Wolanski 646 0.55
  Independent Kuldip Pelia 385 0.33


2021 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 19,721 53.9 +8.9 $93,094.29
New Democratic Avneet Johal 9,536 26.0 −3.2 $22,609.98
Conservative Syed Mohsin 5,758 15.7 −5.3 $10,627.85
People's Pamela Singh 967 2.6 +1.0 $1,484.10
Independent Parveer Hundal 628 1.7 N/A $7,216.08
Total valid votes/Expense limit 36,610 98.9 – $104,887.75
Total rejected ballots 404 1.1
Turnout 37,014 56.2
Eligible voters 65,857
Liberal hold Swing +6.1
Source: Elections Canada[10]
2019 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 18,960 45.0 −10.98 $89,331.46
New Democratic Harjit Singh Gill 12,306 29.2 +3.08 none listed
Conservative Harpreet Singh 8,824 21.0 +5.29 none listed
Green Rabaab Khehra 1,355 3.2 +1.01 none listed
People's Holly Verchère 653 1.6 – none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 42,098 100.0   $102,264.49
Total rejected ballots 505 1.19 +0.46
Turnout 42,603 63.4 −5.66
Eligible voters 67,247
Liberal hold Swing −7.03
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2015 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 24,869 55.98 +21.90 $165,371.15
New Democratic Jinny Sims 11,602 26.12 -9.17 $123,083.62
Conservative Harpreet Singh 6,978 15.71 -11.71 $89,371.95
Green Pamela Sangha 975 2.19 -0.40 –
Total valid votes/expense limit 44,424 100.00   $199,113.86
Total rejected ballots 328 0.73 –
Turnout 44,752 69.06 –
Eligible voters 64,798
Liberal notional gain from New Democratic Swing +15.54
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]
2011 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Jinny Sims 15,413 33.42 +7.29
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 14,510 31.46 -4.96
Conservative Mani Kaur Fallon 14,437 31.30 +0.39
Green Liz Walker 1,520 3.30 -2.30
Independent Ravi S. Gill 123 0.27 –
Communist Sam Hammond 116 0.25 -0.02
Total valid votes/expense limit 46,119 100.00 –
Total rejected ballots 294 0.63 +0.07
Turnout 46,413 62.59 +0.52
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +5.79
2008 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 16,481 36.42 +2.17 $79,459
Conservative Sandeep Pandher 13,988 30.91 +0.29 $79,709
New Democratic Teresa Townsley 11,824 26.13 -5.83 $41,739
Green Liz Walker 2,533 5.60 +3.65 $2,243
Independent James W. Miller-Cousineau 179 0.40 –
Independent John Shavluk 126 0.28 –
Communist Harjit Daudharia 121 0.27 +0.01 $377
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,252 100.00 $81,605
Total rejected ballots 255 0.56 +0.16
Turnout 45,507 62.07 -1.02
Liberal hold Swing +4.00
2006 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 15,006 34.25 +2.70 $76,831
New Democratic Nancy Clegg 14,006 31.96 +2.76 $50,542
Conservative Phil Eidsvik 13,416 30.62 -2.20 $76,831
Green Sunny Athwal 853 1.95 -4.25 $12,622
Independent Rob Girn 319 0.73 –
Communist Harjit Daudharia 112 0.26 +0.02 $379
Independent Mike Saifie 106 0.24 –
Total valid votes 43,818 100.00
Total rejected ballots 174 0.40 -0.12
Turnout 43,992 63.09 0
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +2.45
2004 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Gurmant Grewal 13,529 32.82 – $72,183
Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal 13,009 31.55 – $64,449
New Democratic Nancy Clegg 12,037 29.20 – $28,384
Green John Hague 2,535 6.20 – $3,135
Communist Nazir Rizvi 98 0.24 – $389
Total valid votes 41,228 100.0
Total rejected ballots 216 0.52
Turnout 41,444 63

References

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  1. ^ "SurreyRanjit MPCheema wrotegunned letter in support of drug traffickerdown". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  2. ^ Bolan, Kim (February 7, 2013). "B.C. Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal faces tax-evasion charges". Global News. Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "B.C. Liberal candidate steps down over tax charges". CBC News. February 8, 2024. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  4. ^ Zytaruk, Tom (March 11, 2024). "Former Surrey MP and wife fined after pleading guilty to tax charges". Surrey Now-Leader. Surrey, British Columbia. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Eagland, Nick (October 20, 2015). "Surrey-Newton: Sukh Dhaliwal takes new seat for Liberals". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  6. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Sidhu skips party's Amritsar protest over Lakhimpur killings". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Gurpreet Singh: Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal describes Lakhimpur Kheri episode as a "terrorist attack"". The Georgia Straight. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Liberal MP sponsors petition to open a new Air India bombing investigation". The Globe and Mail. 2024-08-27. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  9. ^ "Liberal MP sponsors petition to open a new Air India bombing investigation". The Globe and Mail. 2024-08-27. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  10. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  12. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Surrey—Newton, 30 September 2015
  14. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
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