Arif Virani

Virani's roots are in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India although he was born in Kampala.^[1] Virani is a multilingual Ismaili Muslim who came to Canada as a refugee from Uganda after the expulsion of Indians from that country.^[2] Upon arriving in Canada in 1972, his family was taken in by the YMCA in Montreal.^[3] His family then became more permanently established in Toronto.^[2] Virani spent his childhood growing up in the Flemingdon Park and Willowdale neighbourhoods.^[3]

Virani graduated as a joint honours Bachelor of Arts in political science and history from McGill University in 1994.^[4] He then graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.^[5] Virani remained connected to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law following his graduation by remaining involved with its alumni committee.^[6]

Virani began his legal career by articling for Fasken Martineau DuMoulin in 1999.^[4] Following this, he worked in London, United Kingdom for a year with the support of the Harold G. Fox scholarship.^[4] This scholarship for recent graduates of the Bar Admission Course allows for a pupilage with leading barristers at the Inns of Court in London.^[7][8]

In 2003, he went on to work as a lawyer for the constitutional law branch of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.^[4][9] During his time with the Ontario constitutional law branch, he appeared in one case at the Supreme Court of Canada.^[10]

He does not currently practise law, as he serves in his role as a Member of Parliament.^[11] He remains an L1 class licensed lawyer according to the Law Society of Ontario.^[11] This means he is "entitled to practise law in Ontario as a barrister and solicitor".^[12]

Virani lives in Roncesvalles Village in Toronto with his wife Suchita Jain, originally from London, Ontario, and their two sons.^[2][13]

• Official website
• Arif Virani – Parliament of Canada biography