Harinder Jeet Singh Takhar (born ) is a former politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 2003 to 2018 who represented the ridings of

Mississauga Centre Mississauga Centre (french: Mississauga-Centre) is a federal electoral district in the Peel Region of Ontario, Canada, that has represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004 and since 2015. Geography The riding contains th ...

and

Mississauga—Erindale Mississauga—Erindale was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. It was created in 2003 from parts of Mississauga Centre and Mississauga West ridings. In 20 ...

. He served in the cabinets of

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearl ...

and

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

Background

Takhar was born to a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, with a background in farming and civil service work. He moved to Canada in 1974, and arrived in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Ontario in 1977. He obtained a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in economics and political science. He has certified as a CMA. He has taught CMA and CGA accredited courses at

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

for thirteen years. Takhar worked for such companies as AGRA Industries Limited, Linear Technology Inc./Gennum Corporation and Timex Canada Inc. he also served as an Associate Director and Chief Financial Officer of Peel Dtsricy School Board from 1994 to 2003. He also served as the president and chief executive officer of the Chalmers Group of Companies until his election to the Ontario legislature. Takhar received the 2001 Community Service Award from the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario for "demonstrating selflessness and kindness for the benefit of society." He lives with his wife Balwinder and their two daughters in Mississauga.

Politics

Takhar ran in the 2003 provincial election as the

candidate in the riding of

. He defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Rob Sampson by 2,620 votes. He ran again in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

in the redistributed riding of

defeating PC candidate David Brow by 6,638 votes. He was re-elected in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. While it was initially reported that he intended to retire, he changed his mind about running and was re-elected in June 2014. He was appointed

Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

on October 23, 2003, by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. He is the first Indian-Canadian to hold a cabinet post in Ontario. In October, 2007 he was appointed as a Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In June 2005, Takhar faced criticism after he was caught visiting his company, the Chalmers Group of Companies, despite it having been placed in a

blind trust A blind trust is a trust in which the trust beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust, and no right to intervene in their handling. In a blind trust, the trustees (fiduciaries, or those who have been given power of attorney) h ...

when he joined the cabinet. Cabinet ministers are required to keep an arms-length relationship with any business they own to avoid a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

. Premier McGuinty admitted that Takhar had shown poor judgement. Takhar claimed that he was visiting the company only to speak with his wife, who is the company's CEO. The matter was sent to the province's Integrity Commissioner which issued a decision on January 4, 2006, that Takhar had violated the province's integrity guidelines by failing to maintain an arms-length relationship with the trustee of his blind trust. Following the release of the decision, McGuinty issued a statement that he would not fire Takhar. Takhar was reassigned to the new position of Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship on May 23, 2006. In September 2008, Takhar was reappointed to a slightly revised cabinet post of Minister of Small Business and Consumer Services. In June 2009, Takhar's moved to the positions of Minister of Government Services. He resigned from Cabinet in 2012 in order to stand as a candidate in the 2013 Liberal leadership convention to choose McGuinty's successor. Takhar came in fourth place with 11.3% of the vote on the first ballot after which he withdrew to endorse

Sandra Pupatello Sandra Pupatello (née Pizzolitto; born October 6, 1962) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2011 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, serving as a Minister in the government o ...

who went on to lose to

. On February 11, 2013, Wynne reappointed Takhar to position of Minister of Government Services and also made him the Management Board Chair. On May 8, 2013 he resigned from cabinet after being hospitalized with chest pains. He remained in the legislature as MPP until he decided not to seek reelection in June, 2018. He currently serves as the Chairman/CEO of Chalmers Group of Companies based in Mississauga. He previously served as the Chairman of United way of Peel and Chair of the Board of Credit Valley Hospital. He was also the founding member of the International Punjabi of Commerce.

Cabinet positions

Electoral record

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takhar, Harinder 1951 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian accountants Canadian politicians of Indian descent Canadian Sikhs Indian emigrants to Canada Living people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Mississauga