Rob Nijjar (born 1967) 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 a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of

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 ...

from 2001 to 2005, representing the riding of

Vancouver-Kingsway Vancouver-Renfrew is a provincial electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Canada. The district of Vancouver-Kingsway was created in 1991 covering much of the same territory and subsequently had its boundaries mod ...

as part of the

British Columbia Liberal Party 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 ...

caucus. A lifelong resident of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

's East Side, he attended school in southeast Vancouver and went to

Langara College Langara College (snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ in ''Halkomelem'') is a public degree-granting college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which serves more than 19,000 students annually. Langara College started in 1965 as part of Vancouver Community ...

before studying at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

, where he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in General Studies in 1992. He subsequently worked as a business manager for several firms including

Jenny Craig Jenny Craig, Inc., often known simply as Jenny Craig, is an American weight loss, weight management, and nutrition company. At its peak, the company had more than 700 weight management centers in Australia, the United States, Canada, and New Ze ...

, some family-run restaurants, and other service industry businesses before founding his own public relations company in 1998. He also worked as a community organizer for BC Liberal leader Gordon Campbell. In the 2001 provincial election, Nijjar ran as a Liberal candidate in

, a riding previously held by former

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) leader

Glen Clark Glen David Clark (born November 22, 1957) is a Canadian retail executive and former politician who served as the 31st premier of British Columbia from 1996 to 1999. Early life and education Clark attended independent Roman Catholic schools, na ...

. With the NDP struggling in the polls, Nijjar defeated that party's candidate Alicia Barsallo by 2,835 votes to become the riding's MLA. In the 37th Parliament, Nijjar served on the Government Caucus Committee on the Economy, sat on the Legislative Standing Committee for Education and chaired the Sub-Committee on Youth Employment. Nijjar was defeated in the 2005 provincial election by NDP candidate

Adrian Dix Adrian Dix (born April 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician who is the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), he was the party ...

. He has since worked as the executive director for the South Hill Business Improvement Association in Vancouver.

Election results

References

1967 births Living people BC United MLAs Canadian people of Indian descent Politicians from Vancouver Simon Fraser University alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Langara College people {{BCUnited-BritishColumbia-MLA-stub