Vijay Thanigasalam (born March 8, 1989) is a Canadian politician who has served as a member of Provincial Parliament since 2018, representing the riding of

Scarborough—Rouge Park Scarborough—Rouge Park is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Scarborough—Rouge Park was created by the Canadian federal el ...

as a member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party. He also serves as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure. He is one of the first

Tamil Canadians Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the S ...

to be elected as a Member of the Provincial Parliament in Ontario.

Early life and education

Born in 1989, Thanigasalam immigrated to Canada at the age of 14. He attended

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Academy St. Joan of Arc Catholic Academy, formerly known as Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School, is a Roman Catholic high school in the Eglinton East neighbourhood of Scarborough in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as a member of the Toronto Catholic District ...

(then known as Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School) while working multiple part-time jobs. At this time, he began to get involved and volunteer with many community organizations in Scarborough. He went on to study at the

University of Toronto Scarborough The University of Toronto Scarborough, also known as U of T Scarborough or UTSC, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upo ...

and completed his Bachelor of Commerce in Finance at the

Ontario Tech University Ontario Tech University (OTU), also known as Ontario Tech, is a public research university located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is located on approximately of land in northern Oshawa, while its secondary satellite cam ...

. After graduation, Thanigasalam worked as a financial advisor.

Political career

On June 7, 2018, Thanigasalam was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

as the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Scarborough—Rouge Park. In 2019, he was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation. In this capacity, Thanigasalam and his government announced the building of the

Scarborough Subway Extension Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, s ...

, which is currently under construction. He also secured funding for the Tamil Community Centre within his riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park, which has the highest concentration of Tamil Canadians in Canada. In 2022, Thanigasalam supported the provincial government’s $1 billion plan to revitalize the

Scarborough Health Network Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is a hospital network in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates the Scarborough General, Centenary, and Birchmount hospitals. The three are major community health hospitals with teaching affiliations ...

’s aging infrastructure. The funding includes a new emergency department at

Centenary Hospital Centenary Hospital (officially Scarborough Health Network, Centenary Hospital) is a hospital in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was opened on July 1, 1967, and was named in honour of the 100th anniversary of Canada. Since 2016, the hos ...

and a complete redevelopment of the

Birchmount Hospital The Birchmount Hospital, officially Scarborough Health Network, Birchmount Hospital, is a hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Agincourt neighbourhood along Birchmount Road, the hospital was opened in 1985 by The Salvation Army a ...

. Thanigasalam was also instrumental in announcing the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) at the University of Toronto Scarborough, the first ever medical school in Scarborough. This is the largest expansion of an undergraduate and postgraduate medical school in Toronto since 1843. Thanigasalam was re-elected in the

2022 Ontario general election The 2022 Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022, to elect Members of Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in th ...

and subsequently named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure. ONBill104RoyalAssent

Bill 104 - Tamil Genocide Education Week Act

In 2019, Thanigasalam introduced ''Bill 104, Tamil Genocide Education Week Act,'' which proposed a seven-day period ending on May 18th (which marks the

Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (or simply Mullivaikkal Day; ta, முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் நினைவு நாள் ''Muḷḷivāykkāl Niṉaivu Nāḷ'') is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamil people to ...

) to be recognized as Tamil Genocide Education Week in Ontario. The bill passed and received royal assent on May 12, 2021. The bill recognizes how Tamil-Ontarian families “have been physically or mentally traumatized by the genocide that the Sri Lankan state perpetrated against the Tamils during the civil war which lasted from 1983 to 2009, and especially so in May 2009". Bill 104 is the first time that claims of the Tamil Genocide were officially recognized by a government in the Tamil diaspora. This was significant for the Tamil community in Canada and across the world.

Electoral record

References

1989 births Living people Canadian politicians of Sri Lankan descent People from Scarborough, Toronto Politicians from Toronto Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Sri Lankan emigrants to Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent {{ProgressiveConservative-Ontario-MPP-stub