Salma Zahid is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Member of Parliament 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 ...

to represent the federal riding of Scarborough Centre during 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 ...

. She succeeded the Conservative

Roxanne James Roxanne L. James (born 1966) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election. She represented the electoral district of Scarborough Centre as a member of the Conservative Party, until her defeat i ...

Early life and career

Zahid was born in Coventry, England. She holds a master's degree in educational management and administration from the University of London’s Institute of Education, and an MBA from Quaid e Azam University in Pakistan. She is

Pakistani Canadian , image = , pop = ''303,260'' (0.81%) , popplace = , region1 = , pop1 = 212,650 , region2 = , pop2 = 39,535 , region3 = , pop3 = 16,645 ...

, mother of 2 and has resided in Scarborough since 2000. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Zahid was a community organizer and worked for the Government of Ontario in multiple positions before running in the election.

Politics

Zahid was elected in the

as a Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre (electoral district). While in the 42nd Parliament, Zahid had the role of Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, where she was a spokesperson for racialized women. In February 2018, Zahid announced that she was taking medical leave to treat her Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This was used by the Scarborough Centre Conservative Party of Canada Riding Association Vice President to sell memberships via

robocall A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public service or emer ...

. While recovering from chemotherapy treatment, Zahid wore a

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

for personal reasons, saying that she had grown closer to her Islamic faith while facing cancer. In May 2018, she became the first MP to wear a hijab in the House of Commons. Zahid received some negative reactions to the hijab, to which she responded by highlighting the personal nature of her decision. In July 2018, after completing six rounds of chemotherapy, Zahid was cancer-free and returned to her job. Zahid was re-nominated to run in Scarborough Centre for the Liberals 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 ...

Past election results

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahid, Salma Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Women members of the House of Commons of Canada People from Scarborough, Toronto Politicians from Toronto Ontario civil servants Women in Ontario politics Canadian politicians of Pakistani descent Quaid-i-Azam University alumni Pakistani emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians Year of birth missing (living people)