Jagmeet Singh leader of Canada’s left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) is the first ethnic minority politician to lead a major federal party. This is Singh’s third federal election campaign, and his party is facing significant challenges, with recent polls indicating some of the lowest support levels for the NDP in years.
According to BBC, the NDP faces stiff competition in Canada’s 2025 election which is scheduled for April 28. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the election soon after being sworn in, following the resignation of former leader Justin Trudeau.
Launching his party’s campaign, Singh was criticised by the Canadian prime minister and US President Donald Trump and pledged that NDP are the only party ordinary Canadians could trust.
Who Is Jagmeet Singh?
Jagmeet Singh is a practising Sikh, he was Born in Scarborough, Ontario, part of the Greater Toronto Area, and he is the son of Indian immigrants from Punjab.
As per BBC, Singh spent time in St. John’s and attended school across the border in Michigan for several years. He later earned a degree in biology from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Laws from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School.
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He is a former legislator of the Ontario province and trained as a lawyer. According to BBC, Singh worked as a criminal defence attorney for years before pursuing provincial politics, eventually running provincially for a seat in the Ontario legislature in 2011. In 2017, the 46-year-old assumed leadership of the party, despite having no prior experience in federal politics.
In 2019, Singh secured his first seat in Canada’s parliament through a byelection in Burnaby, British Columbia, located east of Vancouver.
A former human rights activist, he campaigned on promises to forgive student loan debt, significantly reduce Canada’s carbon emissions, and implement universal prescription drug coverage.
NDP, in 2022, decided to support Trudeau’s minority Liberal government in exchange for backing on shared political priorities, particularly the development of a national dental care program for low-income Canadians and a national prescription drug program. In September 2024, the NDP became the last of Canada’s three main opposition parties to break with Trudeau, with Singh accusing him of giving in to corporate greed.
Singh has faced tense encounters, including a voter during the 2019 election campaign who told him to “cut your turban off.” He handled the situation with grace, responding that Canadians “look like all sorts of people” before calmly walking away.
