Sameer Zuberi
MP (born in August 1979) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the federal riding of
Pierrefonds—Dollard
Pierrefonds—Dollard is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Its population was 108,587 at the 2016 Canadian Census.
This riding occupies the northwest part of ...
in the
House of Commons of Canada in the
2019 Canadian federal election, sitting as a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
.
Early life and education
Born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Zuberi is the eldest of six children raised in
Laval,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
in a multicultural family, with a mother of Scottish and Italian descent and a father who moved to Canada from Pakistan in the 1970s. He attended the
Marianopolis College
, mottoeng = "Under the Guidance of Mary"
, established = 1908
, type = Private college
, endowment =
, director = Mr. Christian Corno
, provost = E ...
at CEGEP and subsequently attended and graduated from
Concordia University in 2004 where he obtained a BA in Mathematics. In 2010, he enrolled at the
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...
in Baccalauréat en droit (LL.B.) program leading to his law degree in 2014. That same year, Zuberi became the first recipient of the Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré scholarship, in recognition of his social engagement. Named after the Commissioner for
Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the pr ...
, the first Black Canadian judge in the history of Quebec and the first Black dean of a Canadian law school, Hon.
Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré
Juanita Westmoreland-Traore, (born March 10, 1942) is the first black judge in the history of Quebec. She is also the first black dean of a law school (the University of Windsor Faculty of Law) in Canada's history.
Early life and education
We ...
, the award is bestowed to law students for their outstanding contribution to the community by using their legal training to promote human rights, social justice and equality rights.
During his time at Concordia, Zuberi was twice elected as a vice-president at the Concordia Student Union and was a member of the Concordia Council on Student Life, advocating for students, supporting diversity, and encouraging a strong sense of community. Zuberi was also a board member of City of Montreal's Intercultural Council, served on the board of the West Island Assistance Fund
and was one of the founding members of the Quebec Section of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association's (CMLA), its Vice-Chair in 2014 and national board member in 2015.
He is married and a father of two young girls.
Political career
From 1997 to 2002, Zuberi served with The
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...
, a Canadian Forces reserve unit, and assisted his compatriots during the
1998 Ice Storm.
After graduating from Concordia University in 2004, he spent a year working as an English teacher in Kuwait. Upon his return to Canada in 2006, he joined the Ottawa office of the not-profit and non-partisan National Council of Canada Muslims (formerly known as the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAN-CAIR)), Canada's leading Muslim advocacy organization, as the Media Relations and Human Rights Coordinator.
After graduating from law school in 2014, Sameer was appointed as diversity and engagement officer at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
’s Faculty of Medicine where he also was an elected member of the Senate. While at McGill, he worked to promote diversity and inclusion of Black and Indigenous students as well as students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those from rural Quebec.
In November 2013, Zuberi ran as a city councillor in the Bois-de-Liesse district of the
Pierrefonds-Roxboro
Pierrefonds-Roxboro is a borough of the city of Montreal. It was created January 1, 2006, following the demerger of parts of the city.
Geography
It is composed of the former municipalities of Pierrefonds and Roxboro, spanning the northern par ...
borough as a candidate for
Projet Montréal
Projet Montréal (officially Projet Montréal - Équipe Valérie Plante) is a progressive, environmentalist municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2004, it is led by Valérie Plante, and holds a majority of seats on M ...
. He ranked third, with 22.93% of the votes.
After
Frank Baylis, Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds-Roxboro, announced that he would not run for a second term, Zuberi joined the nomination contest alongside five other Liberal Party candidates in one of the party's largest nominations with 9,000 registered votes and a turnout of 3,200. Zuberi won the official Liberal Party candidate and defeated the
Conservative Party candidate to be elected as a member of the
43rd Canadian Parliament
The 43rd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 5, 2019, to August 15, 2021, with the membership of its Lower House, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2019 federal election held on October 21 ...
.
During the election campaign, it was alleged that Zuberi's past activities as a student and human rights activist were anti-Semitic. Zuberi denied these allegations on numerous occasions and was backed by the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and leaders of the Jewish community in Montreal.
After the election, Zuberi was a member of several parliamentary committees, including the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, from which he stepped down after having traveled for personal reasons to the United States despite the
travel restrictions between the United States and Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which urged Canadians to avoid non-essential travel.
In June 2021, he officially became a member of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, whose mandate is the management and operation of the Department of Veterans Affairs and other matters referred to it by the House of Commons. From December 2021, he was a member of the Public Safety and National Security Committee until June 2022. He is the Chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and Vice-Chair of Scrutiny of Regulations Committee.
As an elected MP, Zuberi presented a unanimous consent motion on the recognition of the
Romani genocide
The Romani Holocaust or the Romani genocide—also known as the ''Porajmos'' ( Romani pronunciation: , meaning "the Devouring"), the ''Pharrajimos'' meaning the hard times ("Cutting up", "Fragmentation", "Destruction"), and the ''Samudaripen'' ( ...
. He has been Co-Chair of the bipartisan Canadian-Uyghur Parliamentary Friendship Group and one of the leading voices in Canada and within the Canadian Liberal Party regarding human rights abuses against the
Uyghur community in China, which led to the adoption of a motion calling China's actions
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
, with no opposition to the motion. In partnership with Montreal's West Island Chamber of Commerce, Zuberi's office created a small business outreach program with the aim to help over one thousand local businesses in
Pierrefonds—Dollard
Pierrefonds—Dollard is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Its population was 108,587 at the 2016 Canadian Census.
This riding occupies the northwest part of ...
. He now serves on the Joint Committee of the Scrutiny of Regulations.
Electoral record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuberi, Sameer
Living people
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
Politicians from Montreal
21st-century Canadian politicians
People from Dollard-des-Ormeaux
1979 births
Canadian people of Pakistani descent
Canadian people of Italian descent
Canadian people of Scottish descent