Salma Zahid (born May 26, 1970) is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Member of Parliament 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 ...

to represent the federal riding of Scarborough Centre during the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election was held on October 19, 2015, to elect the 338 members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 42nd Canadian Parliament, 42nd Parliament of Canada. In accordance with the Fixed election date ...

. She succeeded the

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 ...

Roxanne James.

Early life and career

Zahid was born in Coventry, England. She holds a master's degree in educational management and administration from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

’s Institute of Education, and an MBA from

Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), founded as the University of Islamabad, is a public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate study, but later expande ...

in Pakistan. She is a Pakistani Canadian, mother of two, and has resided in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

since 2000. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Zahid was a community organizer and worked for the

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

in multiple positions before running in the election.

Politics

Zahid was elected in the

as a Member of Parliament for

Scarborough Centre (federal electoral district) Scarborough Centre () is a former federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 2025. The riding was created in 1976 from parts of Scarborough ...

. While in the 42nd Parliament, Zahid had the role of Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, where she was a spokesperson for racialized women. In February 2018, Zahid announced that she was taking medical leave to treat her Stage 4

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredn ...

. This was used by the Scarborough Centre Conservative Party of Canada Riding Association Vice President to sell memberships via robocall. While recovering from

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

treatment, Zahid wore a

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

for personal reasons, saying that she had grown closer to her Islamic faith while facing cancer. In May 2018, she became the first MP to wear a hijab in the House of Commons. Zahid received some negative reactions to the hijab, to which she responded by highlighting the personal nature of her decision. In July 2018, after completing six rounds of chemotherapy, Zahid was cancer-free and returned to her job. Zahid was re-nominated to run in Scarborough Centre for the Liberals in the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Members of the House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the maximum four-year term under a 2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', ...

. Zahid received criticism in November 2022 when she attended a 'solidarity' event with a publisher of Holocaust denialism. She has also received criticism for her position on the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, which stepped out of long standing tradition of Canadian and Liberal Party MPs political support for the State of Israel. In January 2024, Zahid called on her colleagues in the House of Commons to support South Africa's application to prosecute Israel for genocide.

Election results

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahid, Salma Living people Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Women members of the House of Commons of Canada People from Scarborough, Ontario Politicians from Toronto Ontario civil servants Women in Ontario politics Canadian people of Pakistani descent Quaid-i-Azam University alumni English emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians 1970 births 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada