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Kamal Khera

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The Honourable
Kamal Khera
PC MP
Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
Assumed office
July 26, 2023
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byAhmed Hussen (Diversity and Inclusion)
Carla Qualtrough (Persons with Disabilities)
Minister of Seniors
In office
October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byDeb Schulte
Succeeded bySeamus O'Regan
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development
In office
August 31, 2018 – January 31, 2021
MinisterKarina Gould
Preceded byCelina Caesar-Chavannes
Succeeded byManinder Sidhu
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue
In office
January 30, 2017 – August 31, 2018
MinisterDiane Lebouthillier
Preceded byEmmanuel Dubourg
Succeeded byDeb Schulte
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
In office
December 2, 2015 – January 27, 2017
MinisterJane Philpott
Preceded byCathy McLeod
Succeeded byDarren Fisher
Member of Parliament
for Brampton West
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byKyle Seeback
Personal details
Born (1989-02-04) February 4, 1989 (age 35)[1]
Delhi, India
Political partyLiberal
SpouseJaspreet Dhillon
Residence(s)Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Alma materYork University (BSN)
Occupation
  • Registered nurse
  • politician

Kamalpreet Khera PC MP (born February 4, 1989) is a Canadian politician who has been minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities since July 26, 2023.[2] A member of the Liberal Party, Khera has represented the riding of Brampton West in the House of Commons since the 2015 federal election. She also served as the minister of seniors from October 26, 2021 to July 2023.

Education and Early Career

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Prior to entering politics, Khera attended York University where she earned an Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She went on to work as a registered nurse in the palliative and oncology units at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto.[2]

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, she volunteered at a long-term care facility in her hometown of Brampton and administered vaccines in her community.[2][3]

Federal Politics

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Khera was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Brampton West in December 2014, and won the seat in the federal election in the following October.[4][5][6] When first elected in 2015, Khera was the youngest Liberal MP in the House, and the second-youngest overall behind Pierre-Luc Dusseault of the New Democratic Party (NDP) .[7] She was re-elected in the 2019 federal election,[8] and in 2021.[9] Khera is one of the youngest women ever to be elected to Parliament.

Parliamentary Secretary

On December 2, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Khera as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of health, then as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of national revenue on January 18, 2017. Beginning August 31, 2018, Khera served as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development.[10]

Khera stepped down from her role as parliamentary secretary on January 3, 2021, after having travelled to the United States in December to attend a memorial service for her uncle, while the federal government was discouraging international travel.[3]

On September 20, 2021, Khera was re-elected as the member of Parliament for Brampton West.[11]

Minister of Seniors

On October 26, 2021, Khera was joined cabinet as the minister of seniors.[12] She is amongst the youngest members of the cabinet and the Privy Council of Canada.[13]

Her mandate was marked by the government’s restoration of the age of eligibility for retirement back to 65, an increase of the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), which has helped over 900,000 seniors, and has lifted 45,000 of them out of poverty, the enhancement of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and a 10 per cent increase of Old Age Security (OAS) pensions for seniors over 75.[14]

Minister of Diversity, Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities

On July 26, 2023, Khera was appointed to the position of minister of diversity, inclusion, and persons with disabilities following a cabinet shuffle in the summer of 2023.[15] She succeeds Ahmed Hussen, who was minister of houseing and diversity and inclusion, and Carla Qualthrough, who was minister of persons with disabilities.[16]

On June 8, 2024, Khera announced the launch of the federal government's new Anti-Racism Strategy, a $110.4 million investment aimed at driving action in employment, justice and law enforcement, housing, healthcare and immigration systems.[17]

Khera has also rolled out the Canadian Disability Benefit in the 2024 Canadian federal budget, providing an investment of $6.1 billion to help uplift thousands of working-age persons with disabilities and their families. As proposed, the benefit is estimated to increase the financial well-being of over 600,000 low-income persons with disabilities.[18]

Electoral record

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2021 Canadian federal election: Brampton West
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Kamal Khera 25,780 55.3 +1.8 $107,717.96
Conservative Jermaine Chambers 13,186 28.3 +4.4 $33,421.74
New Democratic Gurprit Gill 6,097 13.1 -5.3 $0.00
People's Rahul Samuel Zia 1,218 2.6 +1.7 $0.00
Independent Sivakumar Ramasamy 328 0.7 N/A $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 46,609 99.2 – $115,623.57
Total rejected ballots 390 0.8
Turnout 46,999 54.3
Eligible voters 86,557
Liberal hold Swing -1.3
Source: Elections Canada[19]
2019 Canadian federal election: Brampton West
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Kamal Khera 28,743 53.5 -2.39 $109,585.64
Conservative Murarilal Thapliyal 12,824 23.9 -6.21 $110,270.48
New Democratic Navjit Kaur 9,855 18.4 +5.96 $74,444.87
Green Jane Davidson 1,271 2.4 +0.85 $683.08
People's Roger Sampson 505 0.9 $3,955.00
Christian Heritage Paul Tannahill 319 0.6 none listed
Communist Harinderpal Hundal 97 0.2 $476.56
Canada's Fourth Front Anjum Malik 69 0.1 $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 53,683 100.0
Total rejected ballots 735
Turnout 54,418 62.6
Eligible voters 86,912
Liberal hold Swing +1.91
Source: Elections Canada[20][21]
2015 Canadian federal election: Brampton West
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Kamal Khera 24,256 55.89 +19.81 $186,667.41
Conservative Ninder Thind 13,068 30.11 -11.90 $179,464.92
New Democratic Adaoma Patterson 5,400 12.44 -7.18 $29,137.39
Green Karthika Gobinath 674 1.55 -0.02 $702.19
Total valid votes/expense limit 43,398 100.00   $203,918.62
Total rejected ballots 245 0.56 –
Turnout 43,643 61.70 –
Eligible voters 70,734
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +15.86
Source: Elections Canada[22][23]

References

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  1. ^ "David Akin 🇨🇦 on Twitter: "Happy 30th birthday to Brampton West MP @KamalKheraLib 1"". twitter.com. Twitter. February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "The Honourable Kamal Khera". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  3. ^ a b DeClerq, Katherine (3 January 2021). "Brampton West MP to step aside from parliamentary role after travelling to U.S. for memorial". CTV News. Toronto ON. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Liberals find candidate in Brampton West for next federal election". Brampton Guardian. 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  5. ^ Guardian, Peter Criscione Brampton (2015-10-20). "BRAMPTON WEST: Liberal Kamal Khera wins Brampton West". Brampton Guardian. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  6. ^ "19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canadian parliament". The Economic Times. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ^ John Paul Tasker, Meet the Class of 2015: Notable Rookies headed to Parliament Hill, CBC.ca, October 22, 2015.
  8. ^ Gamrot, Sabrina (21 October 2019). "Brampton West re-elects Liberal Kamal Khera". The Brampton Guardian. Brampton ON: Metroland Media Group. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Canada election results: Brampton West | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  10. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/kamal-khera(88705)/roles
  11. ^ "Canada election results: Brampton West | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  12. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/kamal-khera(88705)/roles
  13. ^ Maloney, Ryan (November 13, 2021). "Kamal Khera, Trudeau's youngest minister, says she'll draw on her pandemic experiences in cabinet". CBC News.
  14. ^ "Backgrounder: Government of Canada financial supports for seniors". www.canada.ca. 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  15. ^ https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/kamal-khera(88705)/roles
  16. ^ "The Honourable Kamal Khera". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  17. ^ Heritage, Canadian (2024-06-08). "The Government of Canada launches Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2024–2028". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  18. ^ Canada, Employment and Social Development (2023-10-17). "Overview of the Canada Disability Benefit". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  19. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  20. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  21. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  22. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Brampton West, 30 September 2015
  23. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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