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Deepak Obhrai (July 5, 1950 – August 2, 2019) was a
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
-born
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, representing the riding of Calgary East (until 2015) and Forest Lawn (from 2015) for the
Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...
and then the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...
from 1997 until his death in 2019. He previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
. He was the first and only Hindu to become an MP in Canada, and at the time of his death was the longest continuously-serving Conservative MP. He ran in the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, but was defeated in the first round of voting.


Early life and career

Obhrai was born on July 5, 1950 in Oldeani,
Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...
, now
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
, to a Hindu family. His father died when Obhrai was six, so he was raised by his mother, who worked at a bank. Obhrai went to
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
in Moshi, a town near
Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...
, and went to high school in
Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...
before transferring to the prestigious Daly College in Indore, India. He moved to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and trained as an air traffic controller. Disillusioned by discrimination he faced in Britain, he returned to Tanzania to work. In 1976, Obhrai was on duty at a nearby Tanzanian airport when the
Entebbe raid Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week ea ...
took place in neighbouring
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...
. Obhrai immigrated to Canada in 1977 with his wife Neena, whom he had married in 1971, and his daughter Priti. He originally wanted to immigrate to
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- ...
, but decided to avoid
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 thirte ...
and go to
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
instead because of the recent election of
René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attemp ...
's secessionist
Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establis ...
. Obhrai retrained as an
accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...
in Calgary and got a job with the municipal government. With his wife, he established a
dry cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known i ...
business that expanded to three stores. In the 1990s Obhrai became more involved in Calgary community life, serving as the president of the India-Canada Association of Calgary, the Monterey Park Community Association, and the Hindu Society of Calgary. He also was the vice-president responsible for Alberta in the National Indo-Canadian Council.


Municipal and provincial politics

In 1993, Obhrai lost a race for an
alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...
position on
Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...
. He launched failed bids for the Progressive Conservative nomination for a provincial by-election in Calgary-McCall in 1995, and for
Calgary-Montrose Calgary Montrose was a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1986 to 2012. History This urban di ...
in 1996.


Federal politics

Obhrai's successful bid for the
Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protest ...
nomination in the 1997 federal election was initially obstructed by the local
riding association An electoral district association (french: association de circonscription enregistrée), commonly known as a riding association (french: association de comté) or constituency association, is the basic unit of a political party at the level of the ...
, prompting officials from the office of the party leader, Preston Manning, to intervene. He won the nomination and the riding, and was re-elected when the Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance in 2000. In 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2015 he was elected as a member of the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Co ...
. He was also one of four Alliance MPs who agreed to sit with the Progressive Conservative caucus after the December 9, 2003 creation of the merged Conservative Party. The Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parliamentary caucuses were not officially merged until a few weeks later. As an opposition member he served as the Opposition critic for International Cooperation, Multiculturalism, International Trade and of CIDA. In February 2006, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
appointed Obhrai as Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
. In March 2008, he was given the additional responsibility of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation, a role he held until November 2008; he would hold the role again from November 2010 to January 2011. During the
2011 Canadian federal election The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament. The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on Marc ...
, Obhrai chose not to appear in an all-candidates debate in his riding, citing that his time was better spent talking with constituents. He also said that he "does not wish to debate a Liberal from Toronto," a reference to Calgary East Liberal candidate Josipa Petrunic, who despite her employment by the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, was born and raised in Calgary, which was also where she conducted her research. As a result of Gurbax Singh Malhi's defeat in the 2011 election, Obhrai became the longest serving member of parliament who was of
South Asian South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
and/or African ancestry. Obhrai penned a
letter to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional ma ...
to the ''
Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...
'' and to his supporters saying that: "In my birth country, Tanzania, I would henceforth be referred to by the respectful title of '' Mzee''. In South Asia, I would receive the title of ''Pradhaan''. This means I have now reached the ranks of respected elders." On September 19, 2013, Obhrai's role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs was augmented when his role was expanded to include responsibility for international human rights. He was appointed to the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...
by
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm ...
David Johnston on the advice of Stephen Harper. In September 2014, Obhrai received the Pride of India Award from the Indo-American Friends Group of Washington DC and the Indo-American Business Chamber in a dinner ceremony held on Capitol Hill for his contributions towards strengthening Canada's political, social and cultural relations with India and for his role in increasing Indian diaspora participation in pluralistic political activity. Obhrai was the longest-serving Conservative MP in Canada's 42nd Parliament. Obhrai served as the International Development Critic in the Shadow Cabinet of Rona Ambrose, before resigning from the Shadow Cabinet to seek the Conservative Party leadership.


Conservative leadership campaign

Obhrai ran in the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election. The focus of his campaign was promoting Conservative outreach to immigrant communities and opposing proposals by fellow leadership candidate Kellie Leitch to screen immigrants for Canadian values. Having received 0.41% of the vote on the first ballot, Obhrai was eliminated after the first round.


Post-leadership run

Obhrai did not return to the Shadow Cabinet under new Conservative Leader
Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the lead ...
. In December 2017, it was reported that Obhrai was being challenged for the Conservative nomination in
Calgary Forest Lawn Calgary Forest Lawn is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Calgary Forest Lawn was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was de ...
for the 2019 election by former
Calgary-East Calgary-East (formally styled Calgary East) is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Calgary-East has existed twice, the first incarnation ...
MLA
Moe Amery Moe Amery (né Amiri; September 20, 1954) is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, who represented the constituency of Calgary-East as a Progressive Conservative. Early life Amery was born Moe Amiri (he changed his name so ...
.


Death

Obhrai died of liver cancer on August 2, 2019 in Calgary. He had been diagnosed with the disease just a few weeks earlier. He was the longest-serving Conservative member of Parliament. A memorial service was held in Calgary several weeks after Obhrai's death. Stephen Harper and Andrew Scheer were among those who spoke at the service.


References


External links


Deepak Obhrai's Member of Parliament Profile
*
Deepak Obhrai's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obhrai, Deepak 1950 births 2019 deaths Businesspeople from Calgary Canadian Alliance MPs Canadian Hindus Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian politicians of Punjabi descent Conservative Party of Canada MPs Deaths from cancer in Alberta Deaths from liver cancer Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Politicians from Calgary Reform Party of Canada MPs Tanzanian emigrants to Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians