Gagan Sikand is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the

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riding of Mississauga—Streetsville from 2015 to 2021. He served as a member of the

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Background

Sikand attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He completed an Honours B.A. with a double major in crime and deviance and philosophy with a minor in anthropology. He obtained an LLB Law degree from Brunel Law School in

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. He worked for the provincial office of the

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and Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. Born in Toronto, he has lived in Mississauga for over 30 years and in the riding of Mississauga-Streetsville for 29 years.

Politics

In the 2015 federal election, Sikand ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville. He defeated

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incumbent Brad Butt by 4,171 votes. He was a backbench supporter of the government of Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

. He sat on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament. On April 18, 2018 he was named Co-Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament. On February 26, 2016, he introduced a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

that would allow police to use a device that could detect the presence of alcohol for a car driver without having to administer a breathalyzer test. As of September 21, 2016, the bill has passed first reading and is being consider by the house. On June 13, 2016 he was named Caucus Liaison for the

Ontario Young Liberals The Ontario Young Liberals (OYL) is the official youth wing of the Ontario Liberal Party. The OYL's membership includes all members of the Ontario Liberal Party who are aged 25 and under. The organization has local branches called "student clubs" ( ...

. In 2017, Sikand abstained during the vote for Motion 103 to condemn Islamophobia. All other Liberal MPs present voted in favor of the motion. On October 20, 2020, Sikand took a medical leave of absence from Parliament, the leave was approved by the Chief Government Whip. On August 15, 2021, Sikand announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the next election.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikand, Gagan 1984 births Alumni of Brunel University London Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian people of Punjabi descent Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Ontario civil servants Politicians from Toronto University of Toronto alumni 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada