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Gulzar Singh Cheema

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Indian-born Canadian physician and politician

DoctorGulzar Singh Cheema
Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Surrey-Panorama Ridge
In office
May 16, 2001 – May 23, 2004
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byJagrup Brar
Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly
for The Maples
In office
September 11, 1990 – June 17, 1993
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byGary Kowalski
Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly
for Kildonan
In office
April 26, 1988 – September 11, 1990
Preceded byMarty Dolin
Succeeded byDave Chomiak
Minister of State for Mental Health of British Columbia
In office
June 5, 2001 – January 26, 2004
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded bySusan Brice (Minister of State for Mental Health and Addiction Services)
Minister of State for Immigration and Multicultural Services of British Columbia
In office
January 26, 2004 – March 8, 2004
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPatrick Wong
Personal details
Born (1954-08-11) August 11, 1954 (age 70)
India
NationalityCanadian
Political partyManitoba Liberal Party
British Columbia Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
SpouseHarinder Cheema Teacher
Professionphysician

Gulzar Singh Cheema (born August 11, 1954) is an Indian-born Canadian physician and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1993, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 to 2004, making him one of only a few Canadian politicians to have sat in two provincial legislatures since Confederation. He is the first Indian-born provincial legislator in Canada. He was also a cabinet minister in the government of Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell from 2001 to 2004, and was a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada in the federal election of 2004.

Background

The son of Ajinder Singh Cheema and Ajit Kaur Aulakh, he grew up in Gurdaspur district in Punjab, India. He received a bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery from Punjab University in 1977, then worked as a clinical instructor. He moved to Canada in 1979, and married Harinder Claire the same year; they have two children together. Following his internship at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and residency at Saskatoon's Royal University Hospital, he moved to Winnipeg where he practised as a family physician from 1984 to 1993.

Political career

Manitoba politics

In the Manitoba general election of 1988, Cheema was elected as a Liberal in the Winnipeg riding of Kildonan. The Liberals went from one to twenty seats in the Manitoba legislature in this election, winning several Winnipeg seats from the governing New Democratic Party (NDP). Cheema defeated Progressive Conservative candidate John Baluta by 585 votes, with NDP incumbent Marty Dolin finishing third. The Progressive Conservatives came out of the election with a minority government, and Cheema became a member of the official opposition. Cheema increased his margin of victory in the 1990 provincial election when he ran in the new riding of The Maples, but the Liberal Party fell to seven seats and third-party status. During his time in the Manitoba assembly, he served as critic for health, labour, housing, native affairs, sport and co-operatives, and consumer and corporate affairs. He resigned his seat on June 17, 1993.

British Columbia politics

Soon afterwards, Cheema opened a family practice in Surrey, British Columbia. He became involved in several community activities in British Columbia, including acting as chair of the 1998 British Columbia Games for Athletes with Disabilities' medical section. He also made regular appearances on local multicultural radio talk shows and television station OMNI BC (previously Channel M) to educate the Indo-Canadian community on health and disease prevention.

In the 1996 provincial election, Cheema ran as a BC Liberal in the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview, but lost to BC NDP candidate Ian Waddell by 380 votes.

The BC NDP experienced a sharp decline in popularity in the following years, and the provincial Liberals were elected in a landslide in the 2001 provincial election. This time Cheema ran in Surrey-Panorama Ridge, where he defeated NDP candidate Bruce Ralston by over 6,000 votes to become the riding's member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He was appointed to the cabinet that June by Premier Gordon Campbell to serve as Minister of State for Mental Health, before being re-assigned in January 2004 as Minister of State for Immigration and Multicultural Services.

Federal politics

Later in 2004, Cheema sought and won the federal Liberal nomination in the new riding of Fleetwood—Port Kells. His cabinet appointment was rescinded on March 8, 2004, and he subsequently resigned as MLA that May. At the June 2004 federal election, Cheema was defeated by Conservative candidate Nina Grewal, 14,052 votes to 11,568 (New Democratic Party candidate Barry Bell received 10,976 votes).

Return to BC politics

In the 2020 provincial election, Cheema was the BC Liberal candidate in Surrey-Panorama, a reconfigured version of his old riding. He was defeated by incumbent NDP member Jinny Sims.

Honours

Cheema was awarded the Canada 125 Medal in 1992 for community service. In 2021, a new street in northwest Winnipeg was named Cheema Drive in his honour.

Election results

1988 Manitoba general election: Kildonan
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Gulzar Singh Cheema 5,653 35.69 26.24
Progressive Conservative John Baluta 5,068 31.99 -3.08
New Democratic Marty Dolin 4,542 28.67 -22.98
Progressive Sidney Green 445 2.81 -1.02
Western Independence Tracy Fuhr 133 0.84 –
Total valid votes 15,841 – –
Rejected 56 –
Eligible voters / turnout 20,785 76.48 13.01
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +24.61
Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (1999). Statement of Votes for the 37th Provincial General Election, September 21, 1999 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.
1990 Manitoba general election: The Maples
Party Candidate Votes %
Liberal Gulzar Singh Cheema 3,273 39.83
Progressive Conservative Norman Isler 2,684 32.66
New Democratic Tony Valeri 2,260 27.50
Total valid votes 8,217 100.00 -
Rejected ballots 36
Turnout 8,253 67.00
Eligible voters 12,318
Source: Elections Manitoba
2004 Canadian federal election: Fleetwood—Port Kells
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Nina Grewal 14,052 35.8 – $67,710
Liberal Gulzar Cheema 11,568 29.5 – $69,483
New Democratic Barry Bell 10,976 28.0 – $7,669
Green David Walters 2,484 6.3 –
Marxist–Leninist Joseph Theriault 167 0.4 –
Total valid votes 39,247 100.0
Total rejected ballots 218 0.6
Turnout 39,465 59
2020 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Panorama
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Jinny Sims 12,336 55.07 +4.22 $60,769.34
Liberal Gulzar Cheema 9,607 42.89 +1.03 $65,963.02
Vision Sophie Shrestha 458 2.04 – $0.00
Total valid votes 22,401 100.00 –
Total rejected ballots 240 1.06 +0.27
Turnout 22,641 51.65 −9.39
Registered voters 43,835
New Democratic hold Swing +1.60
Source: Elections BC

References

  1. ^ O'Handley, Kathryn (2001). Canadian Parliamentary Guide. ISBN 0-7876-3561-8.
  2. ^ "MLA Biographies - Living". Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  3. ^ "Cheema, Gulzar". Globe and Mail. June 28, 2004. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "New Winnipeg street honours 1st Indian-born Canadian elected to legislative assembly". CBC News. October 24, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  5. ^ "Political Landmark - Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema". Punjab Pavilion. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012.
  6. Singh, Gurpreet (December 25, 2018). "Gurpreet Singh: Opening of Kartarpur corridor raises hopes of permanent peace between Pakistan and India". Georgia Straight. Retrieved September 10, 2024. Former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Dr. Gulzar Cheema, who hails from Gurdaspur...
  7. ^ "MLA: Hon. Gulzar Cheema". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2004.
  8. "Kildonan". Manitoba. CBC News. September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  9. "The Maples". Manitoba Votes 2011. CBC News. September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  10. "Paging – and praising – Dr. Cheema". Surrey Now-Leader. June 23, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  11. "Statement of Votes, 36th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  12. "Statement of Votes, 37th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  13. ^ "Campbell Cabinet: 37th Parliament 2001-2005, 38th Parliament 2005-2009, 39th Parliament 2009-2011" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  14. "Hansard – Tuesday, February 8, 2005 a.m. – Vol. 26, No. 18". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  15. "Profile - Fleetwood--Port Kells, British Columbia (2004-05-23 - )". Library of Parliament. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  16. Brunoro, Michele (October 7, 2020). "Election 2020: Surrey-Panorama important battleground riding for Liberals and NDP". CTVNews. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  17. "B.C. election 2020: Surrey-Panorama results - BC | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  18. "Candidates: 35th General Election" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. September 11, 1990. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  19. "Statement of Votes — 42nd Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  20. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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