Mobina S. B. Jaffer () (born August 20, 1949) is a former Canadian Senator representing

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 ...

. Jaffer was the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

to be appointed to the upper house as well as being the first senator who was born in Africa, and the first of South Asian descent. She retired on August 20, 2024 upon reaching the

mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. A ...

age of 75.

Early life and career

Jaffer was born to a family of

Nizari Nizari Isma'ilism () are the largest segment of the Isma'ilism, Ismailis, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasise independent reasoning or ''ijtihad''; Pluralism (philosophy), pluralism— ...

Khoja The Khoja are a caste of Muslims mainly members of the Nizari Ismaʿiliyyah sect of Islam with a minority of followers of Shia Islam originating the western Indian subcontinent, and converted to Islam from Hinduism by the 14th century by the Pe ...

s living in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It 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 ...

. Her father had been a member of the

Parliament of Uganda The Parliament of Uganda is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Uganda. One of its primary functions is to pass laws that support effective governance in the country. Government ministers are required to answer to the people's represe ...

and fled in June 1972, joining the rest of the family in England, after a senior military officer warned him that he was to be killed. In August,

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

expelled the Asian population making the entire Jaffer family refugees. The family decide to seek refuge in Canada. Jaffer is a past member of the

Girl Guides of Canada Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; ) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1928. Histo ...

who held many volunteer roles including as a Brownie, Guide, and Pathfinder Leader, and as an elected Commissioner. In 2014, Jaffer was one of the recipients of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards presented by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine.

Canadian politics

In 2002, she was appointed the Special Envoy to the Peace Process in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

by the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

and served in that role until 2006. The same year, she was Chair of the Canadian Committee on Women Peace & Security. Jaffer served as a Vice-President 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, ...

from 1994 to 1998 and as President of the National Women's Liberal Commission from 1998 to 2003. She also served on the board of the

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

in 1996. Jaffer ran unsuccessfully in the 1993 general election as the Liberal candidate in North Vancouver, and again in the 1997 election as the party's candidate in Burnaby--Douglas.

Senate tenure

She was appointed to the Canadian Senate on June 13, 2001, on the advice of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

. She sat as a Liberal. On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader

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 ...

announced all Liberal Senators, including Jaffer, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents. The Senators refer to themselves as the

Senate Liberal Caucus The Senate Liberal Caucus (), also known as the Senate Liberals (), was, from 2014 to 2019, a parliamentary grouping in the Senate of Canada made up of independent senators who were individually members of the Liberal Party of Canada and were ap ...

even though they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus. On December 20, 2018, Jaffer left the Senate Liberal Caucus to sit as a non-affiliated senator. On June 12, 2019, Jaffer joined the

Independent Senators Group The Independent Senators Group (ISG; ) is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. Established on March 10, 2016, the Independent Senators Group is committed to a non-partisan Senate and the modernization of the Upper House of Canada's Parli ...

. She sat on the Standing Senate Committees on National Security and Defence, Finance, Official Languages and Internal Affairs, and the Senate Subcommittees on Veterans Affairs and Diversity.

Controversy

The Vancouver Sun reported on January 22, 2008 that the B.C. Law Society was investigating allegations of

overbilling Overbilling (sometimes spelled as over-billing) is the practice of charging more than is legally or ethically acceptable on an invoice or bill. Overview Contractors and professionals Overbilling in the medical industry can occur when doctors seek ...

by Jaffer and her son for allegedly charging a Catholic missionary order, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, fees of $6.7 million for work they did between 2000 and 2004 defending the Oblates against abuse claims made by former residents of the

Canadian Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The sch ...

. Allegations included evidence that Ms. Jaffer's son had billed 32.4 hours of work in a single day. In 2009, the Law Society of British Columbia's Discipline Subcommittee ordered Jaffer and her son to appear before separate conduct review subcommittee panels. At its regular meeting in March 2010, the Discipline Subcommittee agreed with the recommendations of those panels that no further action should be taken.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official websiteParliament of Canada profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffer, Mobina 1949 births Living people Alumni of the University of London Canadian Ismailis Canadian senators from British Columbia Women members of the Senate of Canada Lawyers in British Columbia Liberal Party of Canada senators Politicians from Vancouver Simon Fraser University alumni Ugandan expatriates in the United Kingdom Ugandan emigrants to Canada Women in British Columbia politics Canadian women lawyers Canadian King's Counsel 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian people of Gujarati descent Candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election Khoja Ismailis Refugees in Canada Ugandan refugees Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons British Columbia candidates for Member of Parliament