Jagrup Brar

Jagrup Brar is a Canadian politician. He is a former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in British Columbia, Canada. He represented the ridings of Surrey-Panorama Ridge from 2004 to 2009 and Surrey-Fleetwood from 2009 to 2013 and since 2017 as a member of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia.

Jagrup Brar

MLA
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Surrey-Fleetwood
Assumed office
May 9, 2017
Preceded byPeter Fassbender
In office
May 12, 2009 – May 14, 2013
Preceded byRiding Established
Succeeded byPeter Fassbender
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Surrey-Panorama Ridge
In office
October 28, 2004 – May 12, 2009
Preceded byGulzar Cheema
Succeeded byStephanie Cadieux[1]
Personal details
Born1957/1958 (age 61–62)[2]
Political partyNew Democrat

Background

Born in India,[3] Brar moved to Canada for his studies at the University of Manitoba where he received a Master's degree in Public Administration.[3] In 1994 he moved to Surrey.

For over a decade, Brar worked in both the public and non-profit sectors, helping professionals develop their careers, and working with employers to develop strategies meant for recruiting a highly skilled as well as multicultural workforce.[4] As the former executive director of the Surrey Self Employment and Entrepreneur Development Society (SEEDS), he helped trained new entrepreneurs in developing and launching successful small business ventures.

Political career

He was first elected in October 2004 during a by-election with 6,740 votes (53.59%) [5] He then became a member of British Columbia's 37th Legislative Assembly.[6] He was also a member of BC's 38th Legislative Assembly [7] after being elected in 2005 with 11,553 votes (53.17%).[8]

In early 2012 Brar participated in the Raise the Rates MLA Welfare Challenge by living on $610 for one month, the standard wage given to welfare recipients in B.C. at the time. Brar lived in a small room in Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside for part of the month-long challenge. He lost 26 pounds during the event and reported feeling constantly hungry and his mind "fuzzy" due to a lack of adequate nutrition and sleep. He kept a blog of his experiences and the media exposure surrounding the event significantly raised public awareness of welfare rates in B.C.[9]

In August 2012, Brar was criticized by B.C.'s Liberal Party for praising Cuba's health and education system on a Punjabi radio station after a holiday in the communist country.[10]

He was defeated in the 2013 provincial election by BC Liberal candidate Peter Fassbender. In the 2017 provincial election Brar defeated Fassbender in a re-match.

Electoral record
2017 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Fleetwood
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticJagrup Brar9,95153.42
LiberalPeter Fassbender6,65935.75
GreenTim Binnema2,01810.83
Total valid votes 18,628100.00
Source: Elections BC[11]
2013 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Fleetwood
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalPeter Fassbender8,97445.43
New DemocraticJagrup Brar8,77444.41
GreenTim Binnema1,1475.81
ConservativeMurali Krishnan8014.05
VisionArvin Kumar590.30
Total valid votes 19,755100.00
Total rejected ballots 1340.67
Turnout 19,88955.72
Source: Elections BC[12]
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References
  1. Surrey-Panorama
  2. NDP's Jagrup Brar identifies health as top issue The Leader [Surrey, B.C] 22 Oct 2004: 16.
  3. "Jagrup Brar". www.leg.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  4. Archived 2006-06-27 at the Wayback Machine - New Democrats
  5. Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine - 2004 By-election results
  6. Archived 2006-10-03 at the Wayback Machine 37th Legislative Assembly
  7. Archived 2006-02-21 at the Wayback Machine 38th Legislative Assembly
  8. Archived 2006-10-08 at the Wayback Machine BC elections
  9. "NDP MLA Jagrup Brar prepares to bring welfare lessons back to B.C. legislature". The Georgia Straight. January 25, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  10. "Liberal accuses B.C. NDP MLA of pushing communism". CBC News. August 28, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  11. "2017 Provincial General Election Preliminary Voting Results". Elections BC. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  12. "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
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