Sukh Dhaliwal

Sukhminder "Sukh" Singh Dhaliwal MP (born October 1, 1960) is a Canadian businessman and politician, who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Surrey—Newton since 2015. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Newton—North Delta from 2006 to 2011.

Sukh Dhaliwal
MP
Member of Parliament
for Surrey—Newton
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byJinny Sims
Member of Parliament
for Newton—North Delta
In office
January 23, 2006 – May 2, 2011
Preceded byGurmant Grewal
Succeeded byJinny Sims
Personal details
Born
Sukhminder Singh Dhaliwal

(1960-10-01) October 1, 1960
Sujapur, Punjab, India
Political partyLiberal
United Surrey
SpouseBalwinder "Roni" Kaur Dhaliwal
ResidenceSurrey, British Columbia
ProfessionBusinessman, politician

Early life

Born to a Sikh family in Sujapur, Punjab, India, Dhaliwal emigrated from India in 1999 and became a Canadian citizen three years later. As a businessman, he co-founded a successful land surveying company and played an important role in the municipal politics of Surrey where he is said to have dominated the Surrey Electors Team membership list by signing up over 2,600 new party members. This represented over half the total number of members. However, in the November 1999 municipal elections, Dhaliwal lost his own bid for a seat on city council.

Federal politics

Dhaliwal was the federal Liberal candidate for the Newton-North Delta riding in 2004, but lost to Conservative Gurmant Grewal by just over 500 votes. Grewal decided to not seek re-election and, in 2006, Dhaliwal faced Conservative newcomer Phil Eidsvik. The NDP was also strong in the riding and 2004 candidate Nancy Clegg also ran again. Dhaliwal succeeded in winning the seat by exactly 1,000 votes.

In the 2006 Liberal leadership campaign, Dhaliwal initially indicated support for Joe Volpe, but soon moved to support Michael Ignatieff. Dhaliwal was instrumental in building support for Ignatieff's campaign in the Sikh community. Dhaliwal played a key role in Ignatieff's short-lived, but successful, second leadership campaign in 2008.

Dhaliwal in 2008 had written to a U.S. District Court judge on official House of Commons stationery in support of convicted international drug trafficker Ranjit Cheema.[1]

On October 14, 2008, Dhaliwal was re-elected to Parliament by nearly 2,500 votes. Following the election, Dhaliwal was elected as the Chair of the Northern and Western Caucus of the Liberal Party, and served as the critic for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Dhaliwal has served on several House of Commons Committees: International Trade; Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities; and Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. The Ethics Committee attracted high-profile attention when it investigated allegations surrounding Karlheinz Schreiber’s dealings with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Dhaliwal lost his seat to Jinny Sims of the New Democratic Party in the 2011 federal election.

Dhaliwal was acclaimed as the candidate for the British Columbia Liberal Party for the 2013 provincial election. However, he later withdrew after he was charged with six counts of tax evasion related to a business he ran with his wife.[2][3] He pleaded guilty to three of the charges and was fined $3,000.[4]

In December 2014, Dhaliwal won the Liberal nomination in newly-formed riding of Surrey—Newton ahead of the 2015 election. He defeated NDP incumbent Jinny Sims and won the seat with 56 per cent of the vote.[5]

In 2021, in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre in India, 8 people died in a vehicle-ramming attack. Shaken by the video of the incident Dhaliwal called it a terror attack no different than London, Ontario truck attack.[6][7]

Electoral record
2022 Surrey mayoral election
Party Mayoral candidate Vote  %
  Surrey ConnectBrenda Locke33,31128.14
  Safe Surrey CoalitionDoug McCallum (X)32,33827.31
  Surrey FirstGordie Hogg24,91621.05
  Surrey ForwardJinny Sims14,89512.58
  United SurreySukh Dhaliwal9,6298.13
  People's Council SurreyAmrit Birring2,2701.92
  IndependentJohn Wolanski6460.55
  IndependentKuldip Pelia3850.33
2021 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal19,72153.9+8.9$93,094.29
New DemocraticAvneet Johal9,53626.0-3.2$22,609.98
ConservativeSyed Mohsin5,75815.7-5.3$10,627.85
People'sPamela Singh9672.6+1.0$1,484.10
IndependentParveer Hundal6281.7N/A$7,216.08
Total valid votes/Expense limit 36,61098.9–$104,887.75
Total rejected ballots 4041.1
Turnout 37,01456.2
Eligible voters 65,857
Liberal hold Swing +6.1
Source: Elections Canada[8]
2019 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal18,96045.0−10.98$89,331.46
New DemocraticHarjit Singh Gill12,30629.2+3.08none listed
ConservativeHarpreet Singh8,82421.0+5.29none listed
GreenRabaab Khehra1,3553.2+1.01none listed
People'sHolly Verchère6531.6–none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 42,098100.0 $102,264.49
Total rejected ballots 5051.19+0.46
Turnout 42,60363.4−5.66
Eligible voters 67,247
Liberal hold Swing −7.03
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]
2015 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal24,86955.98+21.90$165,371.15
New DemocraticJinny Sims11,60226.12-9.17$123,083.62
ConservativeHarpreet Singh6,97815.71-11.71$89,371.95
GreenPamela Sangha9752.19-0.40–
Total valid votes/expense limit 44,424100.00 $199,113.86
Total rejected ballots 3280.73–
Turnout 44,75269.06–
Eligible voters 64,798
Liberal notional gain from New Democratic Swing +15.54
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2011 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticJinny Sims15,41333.42+7.29
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal14,51031.46-4.96
ConservativeMani Kaur Fallon14,43731.30+0.39
GreenLiz Walker1,5203.30-2.30
IndependentRavi S. Gill1230.27–
CommunistSam Hammond1160.25-0.02
Total valid votes/expense limit 46,119100.00–
Total rejected ballots 2940.63 +0.07
Turnout 46,41362.59+0.52
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +5.79
2008 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal16,48136.42+2.17$79,459
ConservativeSandeep Pandher13,98830.91+0.29$79,709
New DemocraticTeresa Townsley11,82426.13-5.83$41,739
GreenLiz Walker2,5335.60+3.65$2,243
IndependentJames W. Miller-Cousineau1790.40–
IndependentJohn Shavluk1260.28–
CommunistHarjit Daudharia1210.27+0.01$377
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,252100.00$81,605
Total rejected ballots 2550.56+0.16
Turnout 45,50762.07-1.02
Liberal hold Swing +4.00
2006 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal15,00634.25+2.70$76,831
New DemocraticNancy Clegg14,00631.96+2.76$50,542
ConservativePhil Eidsvik13,41630.62-2.20$76,831
GreenSunny Athwal8531.95-4.25$12,622
IndependentRob Girn3190.73–
CommunistHarjit Daudharia1120.26+0.02$379
IndependentMike Saifie1060.24–
Total valid votes 43,818100.00
Total rejected ballots 1740.40 -0.12
Turnout 43,99263.09 0
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +2.45
2004 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeGurmant Grewal13,52932.82–$72,183
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal13,00931.55–$64,449
New DemocraticNancy Clegg12,03729.20–$28,384
GreenJohn Hague2,5356.20–$3,135
CommunistNazir Rizvi980.24–$389
Total valid votes 41,228100.0
Total rejected ballots 2160.52
Turnout 41,44463

References
  1. "SurreyRanjit MPCheema wrotegunned letter in support of drug traffickerdown". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  2. Bolan, Kim (February 7, 2013). "B.C. Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal faces tax-evasion charges". Global News. Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  3. "B.C. Liberal candidate steps down over tax charges". CBC News. February 8, 2024. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  4. Zytaruk, Tom (March 11, 2024). "Former Surrey MP and wife fined after pleading guilty to tax charges". Surrey Now-Leader. Surrey, British Columbia. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  5. Eagland, Nick (October 20, 2015). "Surrey-Newton: Sukh Dhaliwal takes new seat for Liberals". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  6. Service, Tribune News. "Sidhu skips party's Amritsar protest over Lakhimpur killings". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  7. "Gurpreet Singh: Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal describes Lakhimpur Kheri episode as a "terrorist attack"". The Georgia Straight. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  8. "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  10. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  11. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Surrey—Newton, 30 September 2015
  12. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
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