He was first elected to the party’s executive in 2012 as a regional vice-president, having managed local, provincial and federal campaigns.
TORONTO – Jag Badwal, 53, a native of Jalandhar, has become the first person of Punjabi origin and first Sikh-Canadian to be elected as president of Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, considered the oldest political outfit in the Canadian province. The results came out on January 29 this year.
Badwal, who went to Canada in 1987, describes himself as a “real estate agent, political activist, campaign strategist and community volunteer” in his Twitter bio, which also mentions that he enjoys politics and golf. He was first elected to the party’s executive in 2012 as a regional vice-president, having managed local, provincial and federal campaigns. Having immigrated to Canada for studies, Badwal graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1994.
Badwal told HT on the phone on Monday, “I have got a big responsibility as provincial elections are due on June 7.” The party will elect its leader for the polls on March 10. He said he is sure his party will win the upcoming provincial elections as “people here are fed up of the present ruling Liberal Party”, to which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau belongs.
“Our (Punjabi) community is pretty much involved in Canada’s politics as we have ministers too. My main motto is to motivate the youth who come here to settle down to show interest in politics,” he said.
Badwal’s election comes just months after a 38-year-old lawyer of Punjabi origin, Jagmeet Singh, made history when he became the first person belonging to a visible minority group, and obviously the first of Indian and Sikh heritage, to be elected leader of one of Canada’s three largest national political outfits, the New Democratic Party (NDP).
