# Ruby Sahota

Ruby Sahota PC MP (born June 22, 1979) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she served as the Minister of Democratic Institutions from 2024 to 2025 and has represented the federal riding of Brampton North in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. She also previously served as the Chief Government Whip from January to December 2024.

## Early life and education

Sahota was born in Toronto after her parents arrived in Canada from Punjab, India in the late 1970s, and was raised in Brampton. Her father previously was the Chairman of the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council.
Sahota attended Brampton's Central Peel Secondary School from 1993 to 1998, and then graduated with an Honours bachelor's degree in Political Science and Peace Studies at McMaster University in 2003. She then attended Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, graduating in 2007.

## Legal career

From 2007 to 2012, Sahota practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio, focusing on commercial litigation.

## Political career

Sahota sought the Liberal nomination for the newly created riding of Brampton North, winning it on March 1, 2015.
The general election campaign involved some controversy, as Sahota's campaign criticized leaflets circulated by her opponent, Conservative incumbent Parm Gill, which it was alleged were deliberately aimed at confusing Sahota with previous Liberal Party MP Ruby Dhalla. Sahota defeated Gill to win the election.
Once elected, Sahota was appointed to both the Standing Committee on the Status of Women and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. She was subsequently named to the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. On February 1, 2017, she was elected Chair of the Federal Liberal Ontario Caucus by her peers. As Caucus Chair, she presides over meetings, leads discussions, and is an important link between Ontario Liberal MPs and the Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet.
Sahota was appointed interim Chief Government Whip on January 8, 2024, replacing Steven MacKinnon while he was appointed interim Government House Leader while Karina Gould was on maternity leave. MacKinnon was promoted to Minister of Labour on July 9, 2024 making Sahota's appointment as whip permanent.
Sahota became Minister of Democratic Institutions and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario in December 2024. She was not selected by Prime Minister Mark Carney to be part of the 30th Canadian Ministry.

## Personal life

She is married to podiatrist Dr. Tejinder Sahota and has a son named Nihal.

## Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ruby Sahota | 22,976 | 53.87 | +2.44 |
| | Conservative | Medha Joshi | 13,292 | 31.16 | +3.49 |
| | New Democratic | Teresa Yeh | 6,386 | 14.97 | -1.92 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 42,654 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,654 | 56.61 | -8.58 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 75,344 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -0.53 |
vte2019 Canadian federal election: Brampton North :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Ruby Sahota | 25,970 | 51.42 | +3.05 | $76,162.12 |
| | Conservative | Arpan Khanna | 13,973 | 27.67 | -5.32 | $100,060.30 |
| | New Democratic | Melissa Edwards | 8,382 | 16.90 | +0.40 | $17,829.85 |
| | Green | Norbert D'Costa | 1,516 | 3.00 | +1.10 | $0.00 |
| | People's | Keith Frazer | 510 | 1.01 | – | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 50,502 | 99.03 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 496 | 0.97 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,998 | 65.19 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 78,229 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +4.11 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2015 Canadian federal election: Brampton North :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Ruby Sahota | 23,297 | 48.37 | +20.21 | $136,386.70 |
| | Conservative | Parm Gill | 15,888 | 32.99 | -15.88 | $194,312.26 |
| | New Democratic | Martin Singh | 7,946 | 16.50 | -2.34 | $78,854.84 |
| | Green | Pauline Thornham | 915 | 1.90 | -1.78 | $146.44 |
| | Communist | Harinderpal Hundal | 120 | 0.25 | – | – |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 48,166 | 100.00 | | $206,076.29 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 318 | 0.66 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,484 | 66.13 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 73,321 |
| | Liberal notional gain from Conservative | Liberal notional gain from Conservative | Swing | Swing | +18.05 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||