Ali Ehsassi

Ali Cyrus Ehsassi[1] MP (Persian: علی احساسی‎; born April 24, 1970) is a Canadian politician currently serving as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Willowdale, Ontario riding of Willowdale in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[2] Ehsassi's victory marked a historical milestone, as he is one of the first two Canadians of Iranian heritage to ever be elected to Canada's federal Parliament, with the other being Majid Jowhari.

Ali Ehsassi
MP
Member of Parliament
for Willowdale
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byChungsen Leung
Personal details
Born (1970-04-24) April 24, 1970
Geneva, Switzerland
Political partyLiberal
RelativesAbdolhossein Teymourtash (great-grandfather)
Residence(s)Lansing,[1] North York, Toronto, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Osgoode Hall Law School
Georgetown University
London School of Economics
ProfessionLawyer, International Law Executive of the Ontario Bar Association

Biography

Ali was born on April 24, 1970, in Geneva, Switzerland. At the age of three, his family relocated to New York City and by age 15, Ali moved to North York, Ontario, with his family.[3]

Ali's extended family has extensive experience in international relations. Ali's maternal great-grandfather was Iranian statesman Abdolhossein Teymourtash, who was the first Minister of Court during the Pahlavi dynasty. Ehsassi's father was also an Iranian diplomat and works in Iran's embassy at Switzerland when he was born. His family left Iran during the Iranian Revolution

Education

Ehsassi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master's of Science degree from the London School of Economics . He attended York University Osgoode Hall Law School having obtained his LL.B. Ehsassi then went on to Georgetown University Law School to pursue a masters of international trade and arbitration law,[3] which he attended concurrently as a global and WTO fellow.

Member of Parliament

Ali Ehsassi was elected in 2015 as the Liberal representative for Willowdale. Ali has been active in both his riding and in Ottawa, and is a member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Ali is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and other Crimes against Humanity, Co-Chair of the 416 Caucus, is on the Standing Committee for Citizenship and Immigration, and the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.

Ehsassi is also a member of several Parliamentary Associations and Interparliamentary groups such as the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, Canada-China Legislative Association Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, Canada-United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association, Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.[4]

Advocacy for human rights

In 2015, Ehsassi supported Justin Trudeau's positive stance on the Iran Nuclear Deal[5] and stated that Iran should be held to account for its abysmal human rights record and refrain from supporting international terrorism.[3]

Electoral record
2019 Canadian federal election: Willowdale
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAli Ehsassi22,28249.0-4.4$103,868.26
ConservativeDaniel Lee16,45236.2-0.8$82,193.67
New DemocraticLeah Kalsi4,2319.3+2.3none listed
GreenSharolyn Vettese1,6713.7+1.5$0.00
People'sRichard Hillier5631.2-$1,005.61
IndependentBirinder Singh Ahluwalia2000.4-0.1none listed
IndependentShodja Ziaian710.2-none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,470100.0
Total rejected ballots 410
Turnout 45,88058.2
Eligible voters 78,809
Liberal hold Swing -1.80
Source: Elections Canada[6][7]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAli Ehsassi24,51953.4+13.5–
ConservativeChungsen Leung16,99037.0-4.7–
New DemocraticPouyan Tabasinejad3,2037.0-11.4–
GreenJames Arruda1,0252.2+1.81–
IndependentBirinder Singh Ahluwalia2160.5––
Total valid votes/Expense limit 45,953100.0   $206,712.87
Total rejected ballots 2510.5-0.1
Turnout 46,20461.46+3.06
Eligible voters 75,172
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +9.1
Source: Elections Canada[8][9]

References
  1. "Search For Contributions". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. "Willowdale: Liberal Ali Ehsassi unseats Conservative Chungsen Leung in Willowdale". 20 October 2015.
  3. Chignall, Selina (2015-08-27). "Liberal candidate Ali Ehsassi: a life lived around the world". iPolitics. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  4. "Ali Ehsassi - Work - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  5. "Liberal Party of Canada statement on the nuclear deal with Iran". www.liberal.ca. July 15, 2015. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  6. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  7. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  8. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Willowdale, 30 September 2015
  9. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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