Sikh leader wins federal by-election in Canada

Press Trust of India  |  Ottawa 

A Sikh of the (NDP) won a by-election to enter the

The by-election was held in three different provinces on Tuesday, with barely eight months left for the in October, also sealed Singh's position as an undisputed of the NDP, the third largest party in the

The other two seats were bagged one each by the ruling Liberals from province and the main opposition Conservatives from

The Scarborough-born Sikh leader, also rated as a rising star in Canadian politics, had a shaky position as the of the NDP as he was not a Member of Parliament.

Following his win, Singh is now considered as a viable challenge to the main Opposition Andrew Scheer, who is younger to him and streering a progressive alternative on the national stage to and his

According to Singh's campaign spokesperson, James Smith, the has now redeemed his supremacy in the party.

Affordable housing, pharmacare and meaningful action to combat climate change are his focussed areas of work to solve the problems of the people, Singh told his supporters in his victory speech.

Singh maintained that the successive governments of the Liberals and the Conservatives had only enriched corporations while neglecting common Canadians.

"I know it's been a long slog, but I hope you have more left in the tank. We have just eight more months to let the people know they can choose a government that stands up for people and not corporations, that doesn't give handouts to SNC-Lavalin, Singh said in the context of the ongoing controversy involving SNC-Lavalin.

The NDP victory comes at a time the Liberals are facing the worst crisis involving the SNC-Lavalin bribery scandal, which led to the resignation of the former general

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, February 27 2019. 17:30 IST