Toronto – Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh secured a decisive first-round win on Sunday to become the new NDP leader and the first person of colour to lead a federal party.
Surrounded by supporters, Ontario-born Singh of immigrant parentage claimed almost triple the votes of the next-closest contestant. He garnered 35,266 votes or 53 per cent of the total 65,782 votes cast, well ahead of his next challenger Charlie Angus who tallied 12,705 votes and Niki Ashton who got 11,374 votes. Guy Caron managed to pick up 6,164 votes.
Singh’s win was not surprising to many observers, though some had suggested it would take more than one round of voting to get there. He raised much more money than his competitors, had the most caucus endorsements, and said he signed up 38 per cent of the party’s total members.
In his first speech as leader, he said growing up with brown skin means he knows what it’s like to be stopped by police for that reason. If he were to become prime minister, he said he would make sure that no one in Canada would be stopped by police because of the colour of their skin or how they look.
“It makes you feel like you don’t belong,” said Mr. Singh, whose response to a racist heckler during an earlier campaign stop was captured on video and viewed millions of times.
Singh’s place as the first person who is a visible minority to lead a federal political party is groundbreaking for the NDP and for Canada, said Robin MacLachlan, a vice-president at Summa Strategies who is a Singh supporter and a former NDP staffer.
“You cannot overstate how significant that is,” he said. “I’m a white Canadian; I don’t think I can grasp fully of how important that is for people of colour, marginalized groups growing up in communities where they feel underrepresented in hallways of power.”
Mr. Singh’s campaign had an energy the others couldn’t muster, including a ground game that brought out thousands of volunteers and made sure they were eager to turn up and vote. That made the difference, said Mr. MacLachlan.

By Adit Kumar
The selfless work of two persons – Pt Suresh Sugrim of New Jersay, USA and Retired Magistrate Krishndat Persaud of Corentyne, Berbice, Guyana – have earned them accolades from the Toronto community and Awards from the Toronto Arya Samaj/Vedic Cultural Centre. The duo were honoured on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at the organizations Annual Dinner and Awards event held in Markham, Ontario.
Both Pt Sugrim and Mr Persaud have rendered charitable and humanitarian services to ameliorate the suffering of those caught up in te cycle of poverty in Guyana.
In 2005 Pt Sugrim founded the New Jersey Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission – Guyana Chapter, which has been assisting orphans, disadvantaged children, adults, youth and seniors. The Mission focuses on education and skills development as a means of getting them out of poverty. With the help of generous donors, he established the Port Mourant education and empowerment centre at Ankerville, Port Mourant. In receiving his award, he said he was accepting it on behalf of all the volunteers and donors who contributed to the humanitarian projects.
Mr Krishndat Persaud is credited with resuscitating the Panchayat system of community management of social issues in Corentyne. He also organizes activities around the care and services related to drug abuse, HIV (AIDS), mental depression and suicide and domestic violence. He was also instrumental in builing a crematorium, pavilion and access road at No 66 Village in Berbice and led the way in transforming the 63 Beach in Berbice to a major tourist attraction.
One of the guests, Mr Frank Scarpitti, Mayor of Markham, in his remarks said “...This world would not be what it is if it weren’t for the people who are getting the awards tonight, they’ve made it a better place and we need to celebrate that and we need to talk about it and acknowledge the great work they do. As Mayor of Markham, it is a pleasure to come by ... recognizing two individuals who have made a difference in the world…”
Musical items were presented by youth of the Vedic Cultural Centre led by Pt Dave Ramoutar, with dances done by students of Panwar Music and Dance. A minute’s silence was observed in memory of the victims of the recent world natural disasters.