Gagan Sikand is a Canadian politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga—Streetsville from 2015 to 2021. He served as a member of the Liberal Party.
Gagan Sikand | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Mississauga—Streetsville | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – September 19, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Brad Butt |
| Succeeded by | Rechie Valdez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 21, 1984 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Mississauga, Ontario |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto Brunel Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer, businessman, politician |
Background
Sikand attended the University of Toronto. He completed an Honours B.A. with a double major in crime and deviance and philosophy with a minor in anthropology. He obtained an LLB Law degree from Brunel Law School in London, England.[1] He worked for the provincial office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.[2] Born in Toronto, he has lived in Mississauga for over 30 years and in the riding of Mississauga-Streetsville for 29 years.
Politics
In the 2015 federal election, Sikand ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville. He defeated Conservative incumbent Brad Butt by 4,171 votes.[3][4][5] He was a backbench supporter of the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He sat on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament.[6] On April 18, 2018 he was named Co-Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament.[7]
On February 26, 2016, he introduced a Private Member's Bill that would allow police to use a device that could detect the presence of alcohol for a car driver without having to administer a breathalyzer test.[8] As of September 21, 2016, the bill has passed first reading and is being consider by the house.[9]
On June 13, 2016 he was named Caucus Liaison for the Ontario Young Liberals.[10]
In 2017, Sikand abstained during the vote for Motion 103 to condemn Islamophobia. All other Liberal MPs present voted in favor of the motion.[11]
On October 20, 2020, Sikand took a medical leave of absence from Parliament, the leave was approved by the Chief Government Whip.[12]
On August 15, 2021, Sikand announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the next election.[13]
Electoral record
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Mississauga—Streetsville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gagan Sikand | 29,618 | 50.4 | +2.56 | $84,567.48 | |||
| Conservative | Ghada Melek | 19,474 | 33.1 | -7.3 | $69,794.85 | |||
| New Democratic | Samir Girguis | 6,036 | 10.3 | +1.3 | $12,072.67 | |||
| Green | Chris Hill | 2,688 | 4.6 | +2.29 | $1,396.80 | |||
| People's | Thomas McIver | 706 | 1.2 | $0.00 | ||||
| Animal Protection | Natalie Spizzirri | 243 | 0.4 | $1,762.35 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 58,765 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 437 | |||||||
| Turnout | 59,202 | 67.6 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 87,557 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +4.93 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Gagan Sikand | 26,792 | 47.8 | +12.81 | – | |||
| Conservative | Brad Butt | 22,621 | 40.4 | -5.72 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Fayaz Karim | 5,040 | 9.0 | -6.0 | – | |||
| Green | Chris Hill | 1,293 | 2.3 | -1.36 | – | |||
| Christian Heritage | Yegor Tarazevich | 253 | 0.5 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 55,999 | 100.0 | $219,652.47 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 217 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 56,216 | 67.6% | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 83,122 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.26% | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[16][17] | ||||||||