Sarkis Assadourian (born January 25, 1948) is a Canadian politician from 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'' ...
. He became the first Armenian-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons, with great support of the Armenian community of Toronto.
Background
Assadourian was born in
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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,
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 ...
. His family emigrated soon after. He studied painting at the
Chicago Academy of Fine Arts
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...
. In 1970 he moved to Toronto where he worked as a property manager. He also worked as a consultant on multiculturalism for both the provincial and federal governments.
Assadourian and his wife Zaza have four children. He remains a supporter of Armenian causes and is an active member of the Richmond Hill Provincial Liberal Association.
Politics
In 1988, Assadourian entered politics as the Liberal candidate in the riding of
Don Valley North
Don Valley North (french: Don Valley-Nord) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997 and since 2015. Don Valley North ...
. He won the Liberal nomination over rival
Sarmite Bulte
Sarmite Drosma "Sam" Bulte, (born September 27, 1953) is a Canadian lawyer, advocate and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she represented the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park in the House of Commons of Canada through three success ...
. During the campaign debate he said that he wanted, "honest and open government, for a change." The New Democratic Party candidate,
Anton Kuerti
Anton Emil Kuerti, OC (born July 21, 1938) is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. He has developed international recognition as a solo pianist. He lost the election to Conservative candidate
Barbara Greene
Barbara Greene (born 1 September 1945) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician. She served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative Party. She ...
by 604 votes.
In 1993 he ran again and this time won against Greene by 14,054 votes in what was a general rout of the Conservatives in Toronto and nationwide. In 1997, Assadourian moved seats to
Brampton Centre
Brampton Centre (french: Brampton-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that is represented in the House of Commons of Canada. This riding was created in 1996 from parts of Brampton riding and in 2013, Elections Canada ...
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Immigration, Refugees and Citi ...
. He did not run in the 2004 election.
Assadourian ran in the 2010 Richmond Hill Municipal Elections in Ward 3. He placed fifth out of seven candidates. He ran again in 2022 in Ward 5, placing eighth out of 10 candidates.
After politics
He now serves as a
Citizenship Judge
The Citizenship Commission is an administrative tribunal within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The overall mandate of the Commission is to assess referred applications to ensure they meet the residence or physical-presence ...