Iqra Khalid (born November 20, 1985) is a
Pakistani Asian-Canadian politician who was elected to represent the
riding of
Mississauga—Erin Mills
Mississauga—Erin Mills is a federal electoral district in Ontario. It encompasses a portion of Ontario formerly included in the electoral district of Mississauga—Erindale.
Mississauga—Erin Mills was created by the 2012 federal electora ...
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 federal election.
Early life and education
Khalid was born in Pakistan. In 1993 her family moved to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
while her father completed his
PhD. In 1998 her family immigrated to Canada, where her parents started a small family business 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 ...
. Iqra and her three brothers helped at this store while they attended school. Khalid attended
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
, where she graduated with a degree in
criminology
Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...
and
professional writing Professional writing as an activity is writing for reward or as a profession; as a product or object, professional writing is any form of written communication produced in a workplace environment or context that enables employees to, for example, co ...
in 2007. As a student she served as the media ambassador for the York University Student Alumni Program.
Following her graduation she began working at an immigration firm. She then went on to pursue a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree at
Western Michigan University Cooley Law School
Western Michigan University Cooley Law School ("Cooley") is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by en ...
. She completed the three-year program in only two. She wrote her final thesis on a comparative analysis of the effects of culture on the governance and regulation of a nation, using business law in the USA, Canada, India and China as case studies. She graduated with honors distinction in 2012. She then returned to Canada and began working as an
articled clerk
Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously thre ...
for the city of Mississauga.
Political career
In December 2014, Khalid won her nomination to be the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
’s candidate for the riding of Mississauga-Erin Mills. In the 2015 federal election Khalid defeated two-term Conservative MP Bob Dechert to win the riding. Khalid was one of two
Pakistani-Canadian women elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 election, along with fellow Liberal
Salma Zahid
Salma Zahid is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal riding of Scarborough Centre during the 2015 Canadian federal election. She succeeded the Conservative R ...
. She was re-elected in 2019 and again in 2021.
Khalid currently serves as Vice-Chair of the
Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics (ETHI), as well as a member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). She has previously served as chair on the
Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights and sat on the
Foreign Affairs and International Development Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR). In addition to these roles, she also served as Chair of the Liberal Women's Caucus and the All-Party Women's Caucus.
In 2018, Khalid sponsored petition E-1566, calling on the Prime Minister to appoint a Minister or special advisor on Seniors Affairs. Later that same year, the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
appointed
Filomena Tassi
Filomena Tassi is a Canadian politician who has served as the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario since August 31, 2022. A member of the Liberal Party, Tassi represents the riding of Hamilton ...
as the Minister for Seniors.
Justice
As a member of the Standing Committee of Justice and Human Rights, Khalid has been involved in debates and studies regarding topics such as Access to Justice, the Court Challenges Program, Physician Assisted Dying legislation, Transgender Rights legislation, Bestiality and Animal Fighting, Online Hate in Canada, Genetic Discrimination, and Elder Abuse.
In 2017, Khalid tabled a successful motion to undertake a study on human trafficking. After hearing from numerous witnesses and travelling across Canada to examine the issue further, the committee presented its report “Moving Forward in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in Canada”, which included recommendations that would help provide victims of trafficking the support they need and bring traffickers to justice.
Human Rights Work
As a member of the Subcommittee for International Human Rights, Khalid took part in major studies on human rights situations around the word including human rights violations in
Peru
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, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
,
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, and the issue of
sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the ...
in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. She has also travelled to
Kenya
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, ...
and
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
on studies of
international development
International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications ...
efforts worldwide.
In 2016 Khalid brought forward a successful motion to the Subcommittee for International Human Rights to study the
Plight of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. The report produced by the study was debated in an emergency debate in the House of Commons and as a result Canada became one of the first countries to recognize the
genocide of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.
In 2017 Khalid sponsored petition E609, asking the Canadian government to assist the residents of
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
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who were affected by the
Syrian crisis.
In December 2016, MP Khalid introduced a
private members motion asking the government to develop a strategy to tackle systemic racism and religious discrimination. The motion was developed in response to a petition condemning
Islamophobia in Canada
Islamophobia in Canada refers to a set of discourses, behaviours and structures which express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility and rejection towards Islam or Muslims in Canada. Members of the Sikh, Christian Arab, Jewish and Hindu communiti ...
, which was sponsored by MP
Frank Baylis
Frank Baylis (born November 15, 1962) is a Canadian businessperson and politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. He did not run for reelecti ...
. The motion passed with 2/3 majority approval and a study was commissioned by the
Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. The committee released a report in 2018, and as a result $23 million was marked to invest in anti-racism and anti-discrimination initiatives.
For her work on human rights, Khalid was named as one of
Chatelaine
Chatelaine may refer to:
* Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc.
*Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse
* ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...
's Women of the Year in 2017.
Electoral record
References
External links
Official Websiteopenparliament.ca ProfileIqra Khalid - Parliament of Canada Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalid, Iqra
1986 births
Living people
York University alumni
Western Michigan University Cooley Law School alumni
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Women members of the House of Commons of Canada
Women in Ontario politics
Canadian politicians of Punjabi descent
Canadian women legal professionals
People from Rahim Yar Khan District
Politicians from Mississauga
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
Naturalized citizens of Canada