Tim Uppal (born November 14, 1974) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, banker, and radio host who is the member for

Edmonton Mill Woods Edmonton Mill Woods is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Edmonton Mill Woods was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was le ...

in the Parliament of Canada. He served as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Edmonton—Sherwood Park Edmonton–Sherwood Park was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. It was a suburban riding in Edmonton. History The electoral district was created in 2003 from ...

from 2008 to 2015. On July 15, 2013, Uppal was moved from Minister of State for Democratic Reform to the portfolio of

Minister of State (Multiculturalism) The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (french: Patrimoine canadien), is the Ministry (government department), department of the Cabinet of Canada, Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to init ...

. Uppal's riding was dismantled ahead of the 2015 election, and he opted to transfer to the newly created riding of Edmonton Mill Woods. He lost to

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 ...

candidate

Amarjeet Sohi Amarjeet Sohi (born March 8, 1964) is a Canadian politician serving as the 36th and current mayor of Edmonton since October 26, 2021. Sohi previously sat as a member of Parliament (MP) and served in the federal Cabinet from 2015 to 2018 as the ...

, but won the seat from Sohi in the 2019 election. He was re-elected in 2021.

Early life

Uppal was born in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and was raised in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. His family were

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

who emigrated from

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 ...

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 ...

. From 1992 to 1997, he was executive producer and host of a radio show on CKER in Edmonton. In 2004, he became a residential mortgage manager at TD Canada Trust. He is the founder and president of the South Edmonton Youth Group and has been a member of the Capital Health, Community Health Council since 2001. For several years Uppal was an active member of the Sherwood Park Chamber of Commerce and the Sherwood Park Rotary Club. He was also a founding member of the Edmonton Police Community Advisory Council.

Member of Parliament

In the 2000 federal election, Uppal ran for the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

in the riding of Edmonton Southeast, where he lost by fewer than 5,000 votes. In the 2004 federal election, he was defeated again, but only by 134 votes. And in the 2008 federal election, Uppal won the riding of Edmonton-Sherwood Park, becoming Member of Parliament for the Alberta riding. In December 2008, Uppal was appointed to the Standing Committee on Health and the Standing Committee on Heritage. He was promoted to acting chair of the Health Committee in 2010.

Social Issues

Abortion

Uppal voted in support of Bill C-233 - An Act to amend the ''Criminal Code'' (

sex-selective abortion Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common where male children are valued over female children, especially in parts of Eas ...

), which would make it a criminal offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.

Private Member's Bill

Uppal introduced his first private member's bill in 2010. The National Holocaust Monument Act (Bill C-442) seeks to establish a national Holocaust monument in Canada. Speaking in the House of Commons, Uppal noted that Canada was the only allied nation without a National Holocaust Memorial. Bill C-442 was passed in the House of Commons with unanimous support from all parties. The bill received Royal Assent in March 2011. The National Holocaust Monument was officially unveiled in Ottawa on September 27, 2017.

Minister of State (Democratic Reform)

In 2011, Uppal was appointed Minister of State (Democratic Reform). Uppal is the first Turban-wearing Sikh to be appointed to the

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

, one of five

Visible Minorities A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...

serving as

Ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

in the Harper government. During his time as Minister of State for Democratic Reform, Uppal focused on the issue of over-populated constituencies and redistribution of federal riding borders.

Minister of State (Multiculturalism)

In July 2013, in a cabinet reshuffle, Uppal was appointed Minister of State (Multiculturalism).

Electoral record

References

External links

Tim Uppal
official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uppal, Tim 1974 births Living people Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian people of Punjabi descent Canadian Sikhs Canadian bankers Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from New Westminster Politicians from Edmonton Members of the 28th Canadian Ministry Canadian politicians of Indian descent Canadian politicians of Punjabi descent Deputy opposition leaders