# Raj Chouhan

Raj Chouhan MLA is a Canadian politician and trade unionist, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as the MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds in the 2005 provincial election. He is serving as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He previously served as the Assistant Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2013 to 2017 and as the Deputy Speaker from 2017 to 2020. While in opposition he served as the critic for Mental Health; Human Rights, Immigration and Multiculturism and Labour. He was re-elected in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2020.
Born in the Punjab province of India, Chouhan was the founding president of the Canadian Farmworkers Union and served as a director of the Hospital Employees' Union. He also served as a member of the Labour Relations Board of B.C. and the Arbitration Bureau of B.C.
A founding member of the B.C. Organization to Fight Racism, Chouhan has worked to promote human rights and racial equality. He has served as the Vice President of B.C. Human Rights Defenders since 2003, and has taught courses on Human Rights, the B.C. Labour Code and collective bargaining since 1987.

## Electoral record

vte2024 British Columbia general election: Burnaby-New Westminster :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Raj Chouhan | 10,647 | 59.99 | –3.6 |
| | Conservative | Deepak Suri | 6,161 | 34.71 | +33.5 |
| | Independent | Daniel Kofi Ampong | 940 | 5.30 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 17,748 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | |
| | New Democratic notional hold | New Democratic notional hold | Swing | Swing | –8.6 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
* 1 2 3 From 2020 redistributed results.
vte2020 British Columbia general election: Burnaby-Edmonds :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Raj Chouhan | 11,063 | 62.01 | +7.76 | $38,987.91 |
| | Liberal | Tripat Atwal | 4,754 | 26.65 | −5.43 | $62,427.04 |
| | Green | Iqbal Parekh | 2,023 | 11.34 | −2.33 | $889.57 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 17,840 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 196 | 1.10 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18036 | 44.36 | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 40655 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
vte2017 British Columbia general election: Burnaby-Edmonds :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Raj Chouhan | 10,827 | 54.25 | +2.82 | $47,595.75 |
| | Liberal | Garrison Duke | 6,404 | 32.08 | −6.55 | $42,998.98 |
| | Green | Valentine Wu | 2,728 | 13.67 | +4.93 | $2,758.14 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 19,959 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 156 | 0.78 | −0.34 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,115 | 53.81 | +4.81 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 37,385 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
vte2013 British Columbia general election: Burnaby-Edmonds :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Raj Chouhan | 9,253 | 51.43 | -0.51 | $79,346 |
| | Liberal | Jeff Kuah | 6,950 | 38.63 | +0.27 | $20,696 |
| | Green | Wyatt Tessari | 1,573 | 8.74 | +2.00 | $600 |
| | Excalibur | Nicholas Edward D'Amico | 215 | 1.20 | – | $341 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 17,991 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 203 | 1.12 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,194 | 49.00 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||
B.C. General Election 2009 Burnaby-Edmonds :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Raj Chouhan | 8,647 | 51.94% | +20.52% | $75,002 |
| | Liberal | Lee Rankin | 6,385 | 38.36% | -7.71% | $80,469 |
| | Green | Carrie McLaren | 1,122 | 6.74% | -3.17% | $383 |
| | Libertarian | Dan Cancade | 493 | 2.96% | +2.96% | $643 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 16,647 | 100% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 178 | 1.06% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,825 | 49.07% |
B.C. General Election 2005: Burnaby-Edmonds :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Expenditures |
| | NDP | Raj Chouhan | 10,337 | 46.71% | +5.23% | $71,644 |
| | Liberal | Patty Sahota | 9,599 | 43.38% | -5.02% | $109,119 |
| | Green | Suzanne Deveau | 2,192 | 9.91% | – | $1,754 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 22,128 | 100% |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 155 | 0.70% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,283 | 57.70% |