Doly Begum ( bn, ডলি বেগম) 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, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. She represents the riding of Scarborough Southwest as a member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social democracy, social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Leader of the Opposition ( ...

. At 29, Doly Begum was the youngest New Democrat among the party's caucus and is the first Bangladeshi-Canadian to be elected to a legislative body in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Begum was born in the

Moulvibazar District Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) also spelled Maulvibazar, Moulavibazar, and Maulavibazar, (former South Sylhet) is the southeastern district of Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh, named after the town of Moulvibazar. It ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

. She immigrated to Canada as a child with her family, and attended Gordon A. Brown Middle School and W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute. Thereafter, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts from 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 institu ...

in political science, and a Master of Arts in development, administration and planning from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. Prior to her candidacy, she was Co-Chair of the Scarborough Health Coalition, Vice-Chair of Warden Woods Community Centre, a research analyst at the Society of Energy Professionals, and was the chief coordinator of the province-wide Keep Hydro Public campaign. As of February 2021, she is the Official Opposition Critic for Citizenship, Foreign Credentials and Immigration Services. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Opposition Whip from August 2019 to February 2021, the Critic for Early Learning and Childcare from August 2018 to February 2021 and a Member of the Standing Committee on Social Policy from July 2018 to October 2019. Her critic portfolio changed to Immigration Services, and International Credentials following 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 ...

. Begum stood in solidarity with Bangladeshi Canadians protesting the communal violence against Hindus during

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrat ...

in 2021. On July 13, 2022 Begum was named Deputy Leader of the

alongside Sol Mamakwa.

Election results

References

External links

* Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Living people Women MPPs in Ontario People from Scarborough, Toronto Politicians from Toronto Bangladeshi emigrants to Canada People from Moulvibazar District 21st-century Bengalis Year of birth missing (living people) {{Ontario-MPP-stub