Friday, June 19, 2026
ADVT 
National

Punjabi Now Third Language In Canada's House Of Commons

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Nov, 2015 11:12 AM
    In total, 23 MPs of Indian-origin were elected after October 19 general elections. Three of the 23 MPs do not speak Punjabi, Hill Times online reported on Monday.
     
    Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau, who won from Papineau, Quebec constituency, will unveil his cabinet later this week. Some of Punjabi-speaking MPs are expected to be included in the Cabinet.
     
    Meanwhile, Navdeep Bains of Liberal Party said that the elected 20 Punjabi-speaking MPs represent all constituents regardless of their party affiliation or ethnic origin.
     
    "It speaks to our commitment to diversity and allowing individual to play an important role in our political institutions," Bains said.
     
     
    "The main issue to understand is that we have a very clear mandate to execute our platform and we also have a responsibility to represent our constituents, which are very diverse," he added.
     
    "The voice of the Indo-Canadian community will now be very well represented in the parliament. In the overall aspect of it, the South Asian community won," Deepak Obhrai of Conservative Party was quoted as saying.
     
    According to Statistics Canada's 2011 National Household Survey, 430,705 Canadians identified Punjabi as their mother tongue, making it the third most common language after English and French, the report in the daily said.
     
    The 430,705 native Punjabi speakers make up about 1.3 percent of Canada's population and the 20 Punjabi-speaking MPs represent almost six percent of the House of Commons, the report added.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Public Fears Putting Uranium Mining On Same Footing As Shale Gas In Quebec

    Public Fears Putting Uranium Mining On Same Footing As Shale Gas In Quebec
    Fears about radioactive contamination may close the door to uranium mining in Quebec just as public angst shelved shale gas extraction in the province in 2011.

    Public Fears Putting Uranium Mining On Same Footing As Shale Gas In Quebec

    Second Attempted Child Abduction In Vancouver's Stanley Park, Police Arrest Man

    Second Attempted Child Abduction In Vancouver's Stanley Park, Police Arrest Man
    A two-year-old girl was grabbed by a man in Stanley Park's Lost Lagoon area around 2 p.m. on Monday. The girl's father confronted the man, who let go of the girl and ran off.

    Second Attempted Child Abduction In Vancouver's Stanley Park, Police Arrest Man

    Foreign Sailors Paid As $2 Per Hour While Canadian Crews Remain Jobless: Union

    Foreign Sailors Paid As $2 Per Hour While Canadian Crews Remain Jobless: Union
    The Seafarers International Union of Canada is preparing to take the federal government to court over the use of foreign sailors — some of whom are allegedly being paid as little as $2.02 per hour 

    Foreign Sailors Paid As $2 Per Hour While Canadian Crews Remain Jobless: Union

    Conservatives Drop Two Candidates As Campaign Hits Unofficial Milestone

    Conservatives Drop Two Candidates As Campaign Hits Unofficial Milestone
    The Conservatives stumbled as the federal election reached an unofficial milestone on Monday, dropping two candidates from their slate in the important battleground of the Greater Toronto Area after embarrassing videos surfaced

    Conservatives Drop Two Candidates As Campaign Hits Unofficial Milestone

    Shots Fired In New Westminster, Victims Not Co-Operating With Police

    Shots Fired In New Westminster, Victims Not Co-Operating With Police
    Police say in a release that officers were called to Ewen Avenue near Howe Street around 1:30 a.m. Monday.

    Shots Fired In New Westminster, Victims Not Co-Operating With Police

    Overnight Fire Destroys Several Units In Pitt Meadows Co-Op Complex

    Overnight Fire Destroys Several Units In Pitt Meadows Co-Op Complex
    Fire crews were called to the townhouse complex on 119th Avenue around 7 p.m. yesterday.

    Overnight Fire Destroys Several Units In Pitt Meadows Co-Op Complex