Parm Gill
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Parm Gill (born May 17, 1974) is a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Milton in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
between 2018 and 2024. As a member of the Conservative Party, he previously represented the riding of Brampton—Springdale in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
from 2011 to 2015, holding roles as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the
Minister of International Trade The Minister of International Trade () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for the federal government's international trade portfolio. Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, it is ...
from 2013 until his defeat in the 2015 federal election. In the
2025 Canadian federal election The 2025 Canadian federal election was held on April 28, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. Governor General Mary Simon issued the writs of election on March 23, 2025, afte ...
, he ran and was defeated in riding of
Milton East—Halton Hills South Milton East—Halton Hills South is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It came into effect upon the call of the 2025 Canadian federal election. Geography Under the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution the new riding wi ...
riding. He was elected to the provincial legislature, representing Milton for the
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterr ...
, in the 2018 provincial election. In 2021, he was elevated to the Cabinet as the Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, and became the Minister of Red Tape Reduction in 2022. In January 2024, he announced his departure from provincial politics to run for the Conservatives in the 45th Canadian federal election.


Early life

Gill was born on May 17, 1974, in
Moga, Punjab Moga is a city in the Indian state of Punjab. It was made a part and headquarters of the Moga district (the 17th District in the state) on 24 November 1995, by the then Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar. Before becoming a district, Moga was ...
in India. He moved to Canada at a young age. Before politics, he was an entrepreneur and business executive. He worked on his family's businesses, which include a furniture manufacturing factory and some restaurants that he operated with his older brother.


Political career

In the 2006 federal election, Gill ran in
York West York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, and lost to Liberal MP
Judy Sgro Judith A. Sgro (born December 16, 1944) is a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she currently represents the electoral district of Humber River—Black Creek in the House of Commons of Canada. Sgro currently serves a ...
by over 15000 votes. In the 2008 federal election, Gill ran in Brampton—Springdale against incumbent
Ruby Dhalla Ruby Dhalla (born February 18, 1974) is a Canadian businesswoman and politician. She served as the Member of Parliament for Brampton—Springdale in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011 as a member of the Liberal Party. Dhalla and ...
, but was narrowly defeated by 773 votes. The election campaign between the two were heated, and during an all-candidates' debate, Dhalla brought up how Gill's brother had been charged with vandalizing her campaign signs in 2006, even though the charges were dropped, and Gill attacked Dhalla for failing to do enough for a boy beaten by police in India after stealing her aide's purse. He was elected as a
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
Member of Parliament representing Brampton Springdale in the 2011 election, defeating Dhalla. After witnessing increased gang activity in his riding, Gill toured Western Canadian cities in December 2011 to speak with police and community organizations to see how this could be stopped. In May 2012, Gill introduced a
private members 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 whi ...
, C-394, which made it a crime to target someone for recruitment into a gang. It was eventually passed into law in June 2014. In September 2013, Gill was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs. During Rob Ford's drug scandal, Gill was one of the few federal politicians to offer support for the embattled mayor, calling him a "great mayor" who was "doing a wonderful job" in November 2013, and claimed that Torontonians were happy with his record. In January 2015, Gill was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the role of a Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of International Trade The Minister of International Trade () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for the federal government's international trade portfolio. Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, it is ...
. In May 2015, Gill wrote letters of support to the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...
(CRTC) for two of his constituents' competing applications for a community radio station in Brampton. The ''
Conflict of Interest Act The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is an entity of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament, who administers the ''Conflict of Interest Act'' and the ''Conflict of Interest Code ...
'' bars parliamentary secretaries from writing such letters to the CRTC and other administrative tribunals, and in October 2013, ethics commissioner Mary Dawson had issued a directive to that effect. The Ethics Commissioner ruled in February 2016 that although he had acted in good faith, Gill had violated the ''
Conflict of Interest Act The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is an entity of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament, who administers the ''Conflict of Interest Act'' and the ''Conflict of Interest Code ...
''.


2015 election

Redistribution of federal ridings took place and concluded shortly before the 2015 federal election. Gill's riding, Brampton-Springdale, was eliminated, and he ran in the new riding of Brampton North. In August 2015, the ''Huffington Post'' reported that a supporter of Gill's who previously bundled donations to Liberal MP
Jim Karygiannis James Karygiannis ( ; , ; born May 2, 1955) is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal MP from 1988 to 2014, and as member of the Toronto City Council from 2014 until 2020, when his seat was vaca ...
, had switched his allegiance and had induced Liberal supporters into donating to Gill without their consent. In October 2015, a week and a half before voting day, it was reported that the commissioner of
Elections Canada Elections Canada () is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering elections in Canada, Canadian federal elections and Referendums in Canada, referendums. History Elections Canada is an agency of the Parliament of Canada, and reports ...
launched an investigation into these claims. During the election, Gill criticized the provincial
Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...
and Premier Kathleen Wynne's proposed updates to the sexual education curriculum, which had not been changed since 1998. The changes included teaching that
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
was acceptable in Grade 3, teaching about
puberty Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...
in Grade 4 as opposed to Grade 5, and teaching about
masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...
and
gender expression Gender expression (or gender presentation) is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender in a particular cultural context, typically understood in terms of masculinity and femininity. Gender expr ...
in Grade 6. Gill described the changes as "graphic and explicit" in a taxpayer-funded mailout which conflated the provincial party's education policies with those of separate federal Liberal party, which has no constitutional jurisdiction in the field. In the mailout, Gill also said that it was part of a Liberal attack on
family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...
and parent's right to control the education of their children. In a 2015 video with the ''Punjabi Post'', Gill described some segments of the new education curriculum as "disgusting." Gill lost to Liberal candidate
Ruby Sahota Ruby Sahota (born June 22, 1979) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she served as the Minister of Democratic Institutions from 2024 to 2025 and has represented the federal riding of Brampton North in the Hous ...
.


Provincial politics

On October 29, 2016, Gill announced that he would seek the
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterr ...
nomination in Milton for the
42nd Ontario general election The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature and formed a majo ...
. On June 18, 2017, he won the nomination. In June 2017, then Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown stated that Gill's position on gay rights had shifted, and he was now "100 per cent" in favour of gay rights after comments stating that Gill said that he became involved in politics due to his opposition to legalizing
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
were uncovered. On June 7, 2018 Gill won the
Ontario general election Ontario is the southernmost province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it is home to 38.5% of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by ...
in the riding of Milton as a member of the Progressive Conservatives. In 2021, he was appointed the Ontario Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism from 2021 to 2022, when he became the Minister of Red Tape Reduction. Gill officially resigned as MPP on February 16, 2024. The provincial by-election to replace him was held on May 2, 2024. The seat was retained by the Progressive Conservatives.


45th Canadian federal election

On January 25, 2024, Gill announced that he would be resigning as a Minister and MPP to run in the 45th Canadian federal election in Milton. He was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate despite an allegations that he misled a prospective candidate, D'Arcy Keene, a Georgetown town Councillor, about running. After the riding was split into Burlington North-Milton West, and Milton East-Halton Hills South, Gill planned to seek a seat in Milton East-Halton Hills South. Keene, who ran tried running in the nomination for Milton East-Halton Hills South, never received nomination papers and suggested this was because the party preferred Gill as their candidate. Gill was defeated in the 2025 election. Although preliminary results suggested he had narrowly won the riding, a subsequent vote validation process by
Elections Canada Elections Canada () is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering elections in Canada, Canadian federal elections and Referendums in Canada, referendums. History Elections Canada is an agency of the Parliament of Canada, and reports ...
revealed that
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 ...
candidate
Kristina Tesser Derksen Kristina Tesser Derksen is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was elected as the member of Parliament for Milton East—Halton Hills South in the 2025 Canadian federal election as a member of the Liberal Party. She previously served two term ...
had won the seat by a margin of 29 votes, overturning Gill's initial lead. Because of the narrow margin, a judicial
recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...
was automatically triggered. Following a three-day recount, Tesser Derksen's victory was confirmed with a revised margin of 21 votes.


Personal life

Gill and his wife Amarpal have three children.


Electoral record


References


External links


Official website
as of April 25, 2009, on Wayback Machine {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Parm Living people 1974 births Canadian Sikhs Politicians from Brampton Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Indian emigrants to Canada People from Moga district 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario