Sukh Dhaliwal

Sukhminder "Sukh" Singh Dhaliwal MP (Punjabi: ਸੁਖ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ) (born September 17, 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
ਸੁਖ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Surrey—Newton
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Jinny Sims
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Newton—North Delta
In office January 23, 2006 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Gurmant Grewal
Succeeded by	Jinny Sims
Personal details
Born	October 1, 1960 Sujapur, Ludhiana, Punjab
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Balwinder "Roni" Kaur Dhaliwal
Residence	Surrey, British Columbia
Profession	Businessman, politician

Early life

Born in Punjab, India, Dhaliwal emigrated from India in 1984 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.

In 2008, Dhaliwal wrote to a U.S. District Court judge on official House of Commons stationery in support of convicted international drug trafficker Ranjit Singh 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 Official Opposition, 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.

On October 15, 2012, Dhaliwal was charged with six counts of tax evasion for failing to file returns for a company that he ran with his wife, Roni Dhaliwal.[2] Two weeks later, the BC Liberal Party announced that Dhaliwal would be their candidate for Surrey-Panorama Ridge in the 2013 BC Election.[3] The seat was held by Stephanie Cadieux, who was moving to Surrey-Cloverdale after incumbent MLA Kevin Falcon announced he was not seeking re-election.[4] After a BC Liberal Party review of his candidacy, however, Dhaliwal withdrew from the election race. He and his wife later pleaded guilty to three and five counts of tax evasion, respectively, and they were ordered to pay a total of $8,000 in fines.[5]

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.[6]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	18,960	45.0
	New Democratic	Harjit Singh Gill	12,306	29.2
	Conservative	Harpreet Singh	8,824	21.0
	Green	Rabaab Khehra	1,355	3.2
	People's	Holly Verchère	653	1.6
Total valid votes/Expense limit			42,098	100.0
Total rejected ballots			505
Turnout			42,603	63.4
Eligible voters			67,247
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]

2015 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	24,869	55.98	+21.90	–
	New Democratic	Jinny Sims	11,604	26.12	-9.17	–
	Conservative	Harpreet Singh	6,976	15.70	-11.72	–
	Green	Pamela Sangha	975	2.2	-0.40	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			44,424	100.0		$197,640.76
Total rejected ballots			–	–	–
Turnout			44,424	68.55	–
Eligible voters			64,798
	Liberal notional gain from New Democratic		Swing		+15.54
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

2011 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jinny Sims	15,413	33.42	+7.29
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	14,510	31.46	-4.96
	Conservative	Mani Kaur Fallon	14,437	31.30	+0.39
	Green	Liz Walker	1,520	3.30	-2.30
	Independent	Ravi S. Gill	123	0.27	–
	Communist	Sam Hammond	116	0.25	-0.02
Total valid votes/Expense limit			46,119	100.00
Total rejected ballots			294	0.63	+0.07
Turnout			46,413	62.59	+0.52
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.79

2008 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	16,481	36.42	+2.17	$79,459
	Conservative	Sandeep Pandher	13,988	30.91	+0.29	$79,709
	New Democratic	Teresa Townsley	11,824	26.13	-5.83	$41,739
	Green	Liz Walker	2,533	5.60	+3.65	$2,243
	Independent	James W. Miller-Cousineau	179	0.40	–
	Independent	John Shavluk	126	0.28	–
	Communist	Harjit Daudharia	121	0.27	+0.01	$377
Total valid votes/Expense limit			45,252	100.00	$81,605
Total rejected ballots			255	0.56	+0.16
Turnout			45,507	62.07	-1.02
	Liberal hold		Swing		+4.00

2006 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	15,006	34.25	+2.70	$76,831
	New Democratic	Nancy Clegg	14,006	31.96	+2.76	$50,542
	Conservative	Phil Eidsvik	13,416	30.62	-2.20	$76,831
	Green	Sunny Athwal	853	1.95	-4.25	$12,622
	Independent	Rob Girn	319	0.73	–
	Communist	Harjit Daudharia	112	0.26	+0.02	$379
	Independent	Mike Saifie	106	0.24	–
Total valid votes			43,818	100.00
Total rejected ballots			174	0.40	-0.12
Turnout			43,992	63.09	0
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+2.45

2004 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Gurmant Grewal	13,529	32.82	–	$72,183
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	13,009	31.55	–	$64,449
	New Democratic	Nancy Clegg	12,037	29.20	–	$28,384
	Green	John Hague	2,535	6.20	–	$3,135
	Communist	Nazir Rizvi	98	0.24	–	$389
Total valid votes			41,228	100.0
Total rejected ballots			216	0.52
Turnout			41,444	63

References

1. "Ranjit Cheema gunned down". Canada.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
2. "B.C. Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal faces tax-evasion charges". globalnews.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
3. Fowlie, Jonathan (October 31, 2012). "Former MP Dhaliwal to run for B.C. Liberals". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
4. Fowlie, Jonathan (August 30, 2012). "Kevin Falcon announces retirement; steps down as finance minister". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
5. "Former Liberal MP pleads guilty to failing to file tax returns". Vancouver Sun. March 11, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
6. Eagland, Nick (October 20, 2015). "Surrey-Newton: Sukh Dhaliwal takes new seat for Liberals". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
7. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
8. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
9. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Surrey—Newton, 30 September 2015
10. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Sukh Dhaliwal
• Sukh Dhaliwal – Parliament of Canada biography
• Vancouver Sun International Drug Trafficker Letter