Jagmeet Singh

Jagmeet Singh
Singh in 2022
Leader of the New Democratic Party
In office
October 1, 2017 – May 5, 2025
Deputy
  • David Christopherson
  • Sheri Benson
  • Alexandre Boulerice
Preceded byTom Mulcair
Succeeded byDon Davies (interim)
Member of Parliament
for Burnaby South
In office
February 25, 2019 – April 28, 2025
Preceded byKennedy Stewart
Succeeded byRiding abolished;
Wade Chang (Burnaby Central)
Member of Provincial Parliament
for Bramalea—Gore—Malton
In office
October 6, 2011 – October 20, 2017
Preceded byKuldip Kular
Succeeded byRiding abolished
Personal details
Born
Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal

(1979-01-02) January 2, 1979
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic
Other political
affiliations		Ontario New Democratic
Spouse
Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu
​
(m. 2018)​
Children2
RelativesGurratan Singh (brother)
Education
  • University of Western Ontario (BSc)
  • York University (LLB)
Signature

Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal[a] (born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2017 to 2025 and as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South from 2019 to 2025.[2] He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2011, representing Bramalea—Gore—Malton until his entry into federal politics.[3] A practising Sikh of Punjabi descent, Singh is a Punjabi-Canadian, and the first non-White politician to be elected to lead a major federal political party in Canada.[4][5][6]

After graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School, Singh became a criminal defence lawyer, starting a law firm with his brother Gurratan. In 2011 his political career began when he contested the 2011 federal election in the federal riding of Bramalea—Gore—Malton which resulted in a narrow victory for Conservative opponent Bal Gosal;[7][8] he became a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the overlapping provincial riding later that year.[8][9] In 2015, he became deputy leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, serving under leader Andrea Horwath until 2017. Singh announced his candidacy for the federal New Democratic Party leadership following a leadership review that resulted in a leadership election to replace Tom Mulcair. Singh was elected leader on October 1, 2017, with a first round vote of 53.8 per cent in a field of four.

Upon his election, Singh became the first person of a visible minority group to lead a major Canadian federal political party on a permanent basis, and the second overall after the Bloc Québécois’s former interim leader Vivian Barbot.[10][4] Singh is also the first turban-wearing Sikh to sit as a provincial legislator in Ontario.[11] He has been widely recognized in Canadian media for his fashion and style sense.[12][13] Ideologically, Singh identifies as both a progressive and a social democrat.[14][15] In the 2019 federal election, the New Democrats under Singh lost 15 seats and dropped from third party to fourth party status. In the 2021 federal election, the NDP gained one seat and remained the fourth party. In 2022, his party signed a confidence and supply agreement with the governing Liberal Party, which resulted in the enactment of the Canadian Dental Care Plan and a framework for national pharmacare; in 2024, the NDP terminated the agreement.

At the 2025 federal election, Singh led the NDP to its worst result in party history, losing official party status and himself having been defeated in the riding of Burnaby Central. On election night, he announced that he would resign as party leader;[16] he was replaced by Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies on an interim basis until a new party leader is elected.[17]

  1. ^ "Jagmeet Singh". Instagram. Jagmeet Singh. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wins federal seat in high-stakes Burnaby South byelection" Archived February 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. CBC News, February 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh resigns seat in Ontario legislature". CTV News. The Canadian Press. October 20, 2017. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Austen, Ian (October 1, 2017). "Sikh Becomes Canada's First Nonwhite Political Party Leader". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Who is the new leader of the Federal NDP Jagmeet Singh – RUTV News". Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Jagmeet Singh becomes first Sikh politician to lead major Canadian party". Hindustan Times. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  7. ^ "Riding results from across Canada". Edmonton Journal. May 3, 2011. p. A6.
  8. ^ a b "Ontario NDP's Singh throws heck of a victory rally". CBC News. October 7, 2011. Archived from the original on December 11, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  9. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  10. ^ Zimonjic, Peter (October 1, 2017). "Meet Jagmeet Singh: New leader of federal NDP". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Sudeep, Theres (November 21, 2020). "Indian-origin politicians around the world". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference twelve was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Making history, Jasmeet Singh, scores NDP leadership victory". Rcinet.ca. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  14. ^ "Ontario politician Jagmeet Singh launches bid for federal NDP leadership". The Globe and Mail. May 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  15. ^ NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh addresses Canadian Club Toronto – November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  16. ^ "Jagmeet Singh gives emotional speech and steps down as leader of NDP – video". The Guardian. April 28, 2025.
  17. ^ Thurton, David (May 5, 2025). "NDP appoints Don Davies as interim leader Monday evening: sources". CBC News. Retrieved May 5, 2025.


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