Babar "Bob" Saroya (born February 3, 1952) is a former Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of

Markham—Unionville Markham—Unionville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Boundaries Markham—Unionville is located in the City of Markham within an area bordered by a ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect m ...

. During the 42nd Canadian Parliament he has been a member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

official opposition and sponsored one private member bill
C-338
''An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (punishment)'', which would have increased mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of importing controlled drugs and substances. The bill was debated at second reading but defeated by the Liberals; only members from the

voted in favour. His election in 2015 was unique,

was originally held by

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for h ...

who Saroya came close to upsetting in 2011. After re-distribution, McCallum chose to run in the neighbouring riding of

Markham—Thornhill Markham—Thornhill is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It encompasses a portion of Ontario previously included in the electoral districts of Markham—Un ...

. Saroya's election was considered to be an anomaly because he was the only candidate in Canada to pick up a seat from the Liberals. Saroya was re-elected in the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Member of Parliament (Canada), Members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the Fixed election dates in ...

. During the ensuing 43rd Canadian Parliament he introduced one private member bill, Bill C-238, ''An Act to amend the Criminal Code'' (possession of unlawfully imported firearms) which sought to increase the minimum mandatory sentence from one year to five years imprisonment for the offense of possession of a firearm known to be illegally imported to Canada. It was brought to a vote on January 27, 2021, but defeated with NDP and Liberal Party members voting in against. In the 2020 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election he endorsed

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007� ...

. Saroya immigrated to Canada from India in 1974. He eventually went on to own several restaurants and became a Director with a multi-billion dollar Canadian company before first running for office in 2008.A look at the rookie MPs joining the ranks of Conservative, NDP benches

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saroya, Bob 1952 births Living people Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario People from Markham, Ontario Indian emigrants to Canada Canadian politicians of Indian descent Canadian politicians of Punjabi descent 21st-century Canadian politicians