page_title: Jagmeet Singh
section_title: Provincial politics
hierarchical_section_title: Jagmeet Singh / Political career / Provincial politics
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a picture of MPP Jagmeet Singh at his annual community BBQ in 2014, taking place at Wildwood Park in Malton, Ontario.
context_page_description: Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal MP, professionally known as Jagmeet Singh, is a Canadian lawyer and politician serving as leader of the New Democratic Party since 2017 and as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Burnaby South since 2019. He was previously an Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament for Bramalea—Gore—Malton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2011 to 2017.
  Singh began his career as a criminal defence lawyer. His political career began in 2011 where he contested the 2011 federal election in the federal riding of Bramalea—Gore—Malton which resulted in a narrow victory for Conservative opponent Bal Gosal; he became MPP in the overlapping provincial riding later that year. In 2015, he became deputy leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, serving under leader Andrea Horwath until 2017. Singh announced his candidacy for the federal New Democratic Party leadership following a leadership review that resulted in a leadership election to replace Tom Mulcair. Singh was elected leader on October 1, 2017, with a first round vote of 53.8% in a field of four.
context_section_description: Singh ran in the 2011 Ontario provincial election as the NDP candidate in the overlapping provincial riding, and defeated Liberal incumbent Kuldip Kular by 2,277 votes. Singh became the first Ontario NDP MPP to represent the Peel Region as well as the first turban-wearing MPP. In the 40th Parliament of Ontario, Singh was appointed as the NDP critic for the Attorney General of Ontario and for the Consumer Services. Singh also served as his party's deputy house leader.
  In March 2012, Singh introduced a private member's bill called "An Act to Amend the Insurance Act" to address high auto insurance rates. This bill would have removed the industry practice of basing insurance rates on geographic location. The bill failed to pass second reading.
  In March 2013, Singh introduced a motion calling on the Liberal government to reduce auto insurance premiums by 15%. Singh's motion was accepted by the legislature, and the 15% reduction was to be included in the Liberal Government's 2013 Provincial budget.
  In November 2014, Singh voted against the government's legislation entitled "Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Rates Act", after arguing there were major shortcomings in the legislation regarding the driver's right to sue auto insurance companies. Singh said, "removing more protections for people is not the right way to go, it's a significant loss of our rights, and this is not a good bill."
  In November 2015, Singh introduced a private member's bill to the legislature regarding Tarion. Tarion was created by the provincial government in 1976 to be the regulator of the province's homebuilding industry. Singh's proposed legislation would give the Ontario Ombudsman the jurisdiction to investigate the practices of the corporation, as well as force Tarion to produce a detailed track record of their builds, and include all of their employees who make over $100,000 on the sunshine list. The proposed legislation would also subject Tarion bylaws to the approval of the provincial government.
  In December 2013, legislation introduced by Singh to have the month of April recognized as Sikh Heritage Month in the province of Ontario was passed by the legislature.
  Singh has called for greater police accountability and demanded the provincial government draft legislation to strengthen Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). He criticized the Attorney General after the release of a report by the Ombudsman André Marin that found the province had undermined the SIU. Singh said, "The comprehensive failure of the ministry to address concerns about the SIU and give it a proper mandate is simply unacceptable, and I expect immediate action from the new Attorney General."
  In October 2015, Singh introduced a motion calling on the government to instruct police services in Ontario to end arbitrary street checks, known as carding. On October 22, 2015, the legislature unanimously passed Singh's motion.
  Singh was a critic of the province's handling of the Ornge Air Ambulance service and called for greater oversight of the agency. Ornge was the subject of an investigation that found the air ambulance service paid a $1.4 million salary to its president while failing to provide timely emergency services. Singh said, "No more flying blind at Ornge. The people of Ontario have been paying the bills at Ornge with scarce health dollars. They deserve the facts about what's happened. A key first step is making executive contracts immediately available to the public."
  In May 2012, Singh introduced a private member's bill called "An Act to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 2002" to address high fees on overseas money transfers. The bill died on the order paper when the legislature was prorogued in September 2012.
  Singh sparked controversy when he introduced a private members bill to allow turban-wearing Sikhs to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. After the motion was denied, Singh released statement declaring "While the Wynne Liberals are happy to pay lip service to civil rights, when the rubber meets the road, this so-called activist premier is quick to deny the Si
caption: Singh at a community BBQ in 2014
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