Harry Lali

Harbhajan Singh "Harry" Lali (born August 10, 1955) is a former MLA in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Harry Lali
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Fraser-Nicola
In office May 12, 2009 – May 14, 2013
Preceded by	Riding established
Succeeded by	Jackie Tegart
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Yale-Lillooet
In office May 17, 2005 – May 12, 2009
Preceded by	David Chutter
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
In office October 17, 1991 – May 16, 2001
Preceded by	James Rabbitt
Succeeded by	David Chutter
Minister of Transportation and Highways of British Columbia
In office February 18, 1998 – February 15, 2001
Premier	Glen Clark Dan Miller Ujjal Dosanjh
Preceded by	Lois Boone
Succeeded by	Helmut Giesbrecht
Merritt City Councillor
In office December 1988 – October 17, 1991
Personal details
Born	Harbhajan Singh Lali (1955-08-10) August 10, 1955 Jullundur, Punjab, India
Political party	British Columbia New Democratic Party
Residence	Merritt, British Columbia

Biography

Lali spent eleven summers working in the forestry industry, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and South Asia Area Studies from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, where he helped establish the Chair of Punjabi and Sikh Studies. He served one term as City Councillor in Merritt starting in 1988, and was an employment counsellor for the Merritt Outreach Program from 1986 until 1991.[1]

He is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party and the longest serving South Asian Member of a Legislative Assembly in Canadian history, surpassing his former colleague Moe Sihota in June 2010.[2][3][2][4]

First term in the Legislative Assembly

In the 1991 election he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as MLA for Yale-Lillooet, and was re-elected in 1996. Lali served as the Minister of Transportation and Highways from 1998 to 2001 under three different Premiers.[2] For the 2001 election, he chose not to run for re-election.

Second term in the Legislative Assembly

He returned to the Assembly by winning his riding in the 2005 election ahead of BC Liberal Party candidate Lloyd Forman and Green Party candidate Michael McLean. Lali ran again elected in the newly created riding of Fraser-Nicola in the 2009 election and was re-elected over BC Liberal Party candidate Ella Brown.

Leadership bid

In December 2010, following a BC NDP caucus revolt of which Lali was a part of, BC NDP Leader Carole James announced she would step down as Leader of the NDP. On January 7, 2011, Lali announced he was running to be leader of the opposition.[5] But less than a month later, Lali dropped out of the race saying that he was unable to come up with the funds necessary to mount a credible campaign.[6]

Defeat

Lali ran for re-election but suffered a surprising defeat to BC Liberal Candidate Jackie Tegart in his riding of Fraser-Nicola in the 2013 election, Lali blamed his defeat on a poorly run provincial campaign and a dearth of NDP supporters showing up at the polls because he was considered a shoo-in cost him the riding.[7]

Attempt to return to the Legislative Assembly

On May 17, 2016, Lali announced he would again run for the British Columbia New Democratic Party nomination for Fraser-Nicola in a bid to reclaim his seat.[8] He was challenged by Aaron Sam, a Lower Nicola Indian Band chief. Lali ended up winning the nomination but losing his re-match to Tegart.

Electoral record

2017 British Columbia general election: Fraser-Nicola
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Jackie Tegart	6,597	41.79	$47,914
	New Democratic	Harry Lali	6,073	38.47	$51,363
	Green	Arthur Alexander Green	2,519	15.96	$17,214
	Social Credit	Michael Henshall	596	3.78	$5,848
Total valid votes			15,785	100.00
Total rejected ballots			69	0.44
Turnout			15,854	64.04
Source: Elections BC[9]

2013 British Columbia general election: Fraser-Nicola
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Jackie Tegart	6,002	44.14	+1.42	$87,325
	New Democratic	Harry Lali	5,388	39.62	–9.5	$79,802
	Green	John Kidder	1,314	9.66	+3.13	$2,035
	Conservative	Michael Beauclair	895	6.58	–	$2,628
Total valid votes			13,599	100.00
Total rejected ballots			51	0.37
Turnout			13,650	61.52
Source: Elections BC[10]

References

1. "39th Parliament Members at dissolution on April 16, 2013". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
2. "MLA: Harry Lali". Member Biography. Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
4. Editor (15 June 2010). "Lali, longest-serving South Asian MLA". Merritt Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2017.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. Fortems, Cam (7 January 2011). "Lali to run for Opposition leader". Kamloops Daily News. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
6. "B.C. MLA Harry Lali drops out of NDP race". CBC.ca. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
7. Potestio, Michael (4 May 2016). "Lali Seeking NDP Nomination". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
8. Roden, Barbara (26 May 2016). "Harry Lali to seek NDP nomination". Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
9. "Statement of Votes – 41st Provincial General Election – May 9, 2017" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
10. "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

British Columbia Provincial Government of Ujjal Dosanjh
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
cont'd from Miller Ministry	Minister of Transportation and Highways February 29, 2000 – February 15, 2001	Helmut Giesbrecht
British Columbia Provincial Government of Dan Miller
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
cont'd from Clark Ministry	Minister of Transportation and Highways August 25, 1999 – February 24, 2000	cont'd into Dosanjh Ministry
British Columbia Provincial Government of Glen Clark
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Lois Boone	Minister of Transportation and Highways February 18, 1996 – August 25, 1999	cont'd into Miller Ministry