Parm Bains
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Paramvir "Parm" Bains 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. A member of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, he has represented Richmond East—Steveston in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
since the 2021 federal election. He was re-elected in the 2025 federal election.


Early life and career prior to politics

Bains was born in
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
. His parents immigrated to Canada from
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Bains is married and has two children. Prior to his election, Bains was an instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He has also worked as a media and public relations officer with the provincial government.


Political career

Bains ran for Richmond City Council in the
2018 British Columbia municipal elections Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * 18 (film), ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * Eighteen (film), ...
, but was not elected. In the 2021 federal election, he defeated incumbent Kenny Chiu. He was re-elected in the 2025 federal election, receiving 48.5% of the vote. In the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, Bains endorsed
Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...
.


Chinese interference allegations

In 2023, allegations surfaced that the Chinese government may have attempted to influence Parm Bains' 2021 election victory in Steveston—Richmond East. Reports indicated disinformation campaigns on Chinese-language platforms, such as
WeChat WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...
and
WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
, targeted his opponent Kenny Chiu, a critic of the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP) and sponsor of a foreign influence registry bill.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; , ''SCRS'') is a Intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service and security agency of the Government of Canada, federal government of Canada. It is responsible for gathering, processing, a ...
(CSIS) documents flagged the riding as a potential target of interference. Bains denied that foreign interference played a role in his victory and insisted he won "fair and square."


Electoral history


Federal elections


Municipal elections

''Top 8 candidates elected — Incumbents marked with "(X)". Elected members' names are in bold ''


References


External links

Living people Academic staff of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia People from Richmond, British Columbia Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{BritishColumbia-MP-stub