# Harinder Malhi

Harinder Kaur Malhi (born c. 1981) is a former Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018 who represented the riding of Brampton—Springdale, and was a member of the Ontario provincial cabinet in the government of Kathleen Wynne.

## Background

Malhi's family is of Indian descent, and she speaks Punjabi. Her father, Gurbax Singh Malhi, was a Liberal federal Member of Parliament between 1993 and 2011, representing the riding of Bramalea—Gore—Malton. Her mother is Devinder Malhi.
Malhi studied at Ryerson University, where she obtained a degree in public administration and governance. She worked as a sales agent at a telecommunications company in Brampton, and then as a real estate agent.

## Politics

On 25 October 2010, she was elected as a school trustee for the Peel District School Board, representing Brampton wards 9 and 10, during the 2010 municipal election.
Malhi was selected as the Liberal candidate for the Brampton-Springdale riding after incumbent cabinet minister Linda Jeffrey vacated the seat in March 2014 to run for the mayor of Brampton. She was elected MPP in the 2014 election and took an unpaid leave of absence from her position as school trustee, during the campaign.
She served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport (2016–18), and as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister Responsible for Women's Issues (2014–16). In January 2018, she was promoted to cabinet as Minister of the Status of Women by Premier Kathleen Wynne.
In the 2018 provincial election she ran in the new riding of Brampton North, placing third, losing the seat to Kevin Yarde of the NDP. In the 2022 provincial election, she contested Brampton North once again, coming in second place, but this time losing to the Progressive Conservative candidate Graham McGregor.

### Cabinet positions

Ontario provincial government of Kathleen Wynne :
| Cabinet post (1) |||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Indira Naidoo-Harris | Minister of the Status of Women 2018 (January - June) | Lisa MacLeod |

## Elections

vte2022 Ontario general election: Brampton North :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Graham McGregor | 13,509 | 44.99 | +8.70 |
| | Liberal | Harinder K Malhi | 8,639 | 28.77 | +7.55 |
| | New Democratic | Sandeep Singh | 5,949 | 19.81 | −17.73 |
| | Green | Aneep Dhade | 895 | 2.98 | −0.47 |
| | New Blue | Jerry Fussek | 610 | 2.03 | |
| | Ontario Party | Julia Bauman | 423 | 1.41 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 30,025 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 203 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,228 | 38.46 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 78,501 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Independent | Progressive Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | Swing | +0.58 |
| Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023."Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. |||||||
vte2018 Ontario general election: Brampton North :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Kevin Yarde | 14,877 | 37.55 | +6.24 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ripudaman Dhillon | 14,380 | 36.29 | +11.85 |
| | Liberal | Harinder Malhi | 8,410 | 21.22 | -18.70 |
| | Green | Pauline Thornham | 1,366 | 3.45 | +0.04 |
| | Libertarian | Gregory Argue | 591 | 1.49 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 39,624 | 98.98 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 407 | 1.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,031 | 51.58 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 77,609 |
| | New Democratic notional gain from Liberal | New Democratic notional gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +12.47 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2014 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Harinder Malhi | 16,848 | 39.8 |
| | New Democratic | Gurpreet Dhillon | 13,481 | 31.9 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Pam Hundal | 10,234 | 24.2 |
| | Green | Laila Zarrabi Yan | 1,322 | 3.1 |
| | Communist | Elizabeth Hill | 398 | 0.9 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
Peel District School Board, Wards 9 & 10 :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Harinder Malhi | 9019 | 46.82% |
| Joy Adams | 3242 | 16.83% |
| Jash Puniya | 2453 | 12.73% |
| Mohan Singh Khangura | 1838 | 9.54% |
| John Crowley | 1633 | 8.48% |
| Devinder Jeet Singh | 447 | 2.32% |
| Fatima Devonish | 439 | 2.28% |
| Yadwinder Sahota | 191 | 0.99% |