Gulzar Singh Cheema (born August 11, 1954) is an Indian-born Canadian physician and politician. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 1988 to 1993, and a member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

from 2001 to 2004, making him one of only a few Canadian politicians to have sat in two provincial legislatures since

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. He is the first Indian-born provincial legislator in Canada. He was also a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the government of

Premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

Gordon Campbell from 2001 to 2004, and was a candidate of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

in the federal election of 2004.

Background

The son of Ajinder Singh Cheema and Ajit Kaur Aulakh, he grew up in

Gurdaspur district Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala ...

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

. He received a bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery from Punjab University in 1977, then worked as a clinical instructor. He moved to Canada in 1979, and married Harinder Claire the same year; they have two children together. Following his internship at the

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

and residency at

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Royal University Hospital Royal University Hospital, often abbreviated RUH, is one of four hospitals in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is located on the University of Saskatchewan campus. RUH is a teaching hospital and closely tied to the College of Medicine within the ...

, he moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

where he practised as a family physician from 1984 to 1993.

Political career

Manitoba politics

In the Manitoba general election of 1988, Cheema was elected as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

in the Winnipeg riding of Kildonan. The Liberals went from one to twenty seats in the

Manitoba legislature The Manitoba Legislature is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada) and the unicameral assemb ...

in this election, winning several Winnipeg seats from the governing

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP). Cheema defeated Progressive Conservative candidate John Baluta by 585 votes, with NDP incumbent Marty Dolin finishing third. The Progressive Conservatives came out of the election with a minority government, and Cheema became a member of the official opposition. Cheema increased his margin of victory in the 1990 provincial election when he ran in the new riding of The Maples, but the Liberal Party fell to seven seats and third-party status. During his time in the Manitoba assembly, he served as critic for health, labour, housing, native affairs, sport and co-operatives, and consumer and corporate affairs. He resigned his seat on June 17, 1993.

British Columbia politics

Soon afterwards, Cheema opened a family practice in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He became involved in several community activities in British Columbia, including acting as chair of the 1998 British Columbia Games for Athletes with Disabilities' medical section. He also made regular appearances on local multicultural radio talk shows and television station OMNI BC (previously Channel M) to educate the Indo-Canadian community on health and disease prevention. In the 1996 provincial election, Cheema ran as a

BC Liberal BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

in the riding of

Vancouver-Fraserview Vancouver-Fraserview is a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Geography Following the redistricting in 2015 based on the pr ...

, but lost to

BC NDP The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

candidate

Ian Waddell Ian Gardiner Waddell (November 21, 1942March 15, 2021) was a Canadian politician, author and filmmaker. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1993, and in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1996 to 2001. Ear ...

by 380 votes. The BC NDP experienced a sharp decline in popularity in the following years, and the provincial Liberals were elected in a landslide in the 2001 provincial election. This time Cheema ran in Surrey-Panorama Ridge, where he defeated NDP candidate Bruce Ralston by over 6,000 votes to become the riding's

member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA). He was appointed to the cabinet that June by Premier Gordon Campbell to serve as

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Mental Health, before being re-assigned in January 2004 as Minister of State for Immigration and Multicultural Services.

Federal politics

Later in 2004, Cheema sought and won the federal

nomination in the new riding of

Fleetwood—Port Kells Fleetwood—Port Kells is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Geogr ...

. His cabinet appointment was rescinded on March 8, 2004, and he subsequently resigned as MLA that May. At the June 2004 federal election, Cheema was defeated by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate Nina Grewal, 14,052 votes to 11,568 (

candidate Barry Bell received 10,976 votes).

Return to BC politics

In the 2020 provincial election, Cheema was the BC Liberal candidate in Surrey-Panorama, a reconfigured version of his old riding. He was defeated by incumbent NDP member Jinny Sims.

Honours

Cheema was awarded the

Canada 125 Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal () is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada and was awarded to Canadians who were deemed to have made ...

in 1992 for community service. In 2021, a new street in northwest Winnipeg was named Cheema Drive in his honour.

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheema, Gulzar Singh 1954 births Living people BC United MLAs Canadian general practitioners Canadian people of Punjabi descent Canadian Sikhs Indian emigrants to Canada Indian Sikhs Liberal Party of Canada candidates in the 2004 Canadian federal election Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni People from Surrey, British Columbia Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Expatriate academics in Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 20th-century Canadian physicians 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century Canadian physicians British Columbia candidates for Member of Parliament