Salma Zahid MP (born May 26, 1970) is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal riding of Scarborough Centre during the 2015 Canadian federal election. She succeeded the Conservative Roxanne James.[2]
Salma Zahid | |
|---|---|
 Image of Salma Zahid delivering victory speech on election night October 19, 2015 | |
| Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Roxanne James |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 26, 1970 Coventry, England, UK |
| Citizenship |
|
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | South Cedarbrae,[1] Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario |
| Alma mater | University of London Quaid-i-Azam University |
| Awards | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |
Early life and career
editZahid was born in Coventry. She holds a master's degree in educational management and administration from the University of London’s Institute of Education, and an MBA from Quaid e Azam University in Pakistan. She is Pakistani Canadian, mother of 2 and has resided in Scarborough 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 in multiple positions before running in the election.
Politics
editZahid was elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election as a Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre (federal electoral district). 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.[3]
In February 2018, Zahid announced that she was taking medical leave to treat her Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This was used by the Scarborough Centre Conservative Party of Canada Riding Association Vice President to sell memberships via robocall.[4] While recovering from chemotherapy treatment, Zahid wore a hijab 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.[5] Zahid received some negative reactions to the hijab, to which she responded by highlighting the personal nature of her decision.[5] In July 2018, after completing six rounds of chemotherapy, Zahid was cancer-free and returned to her job.[4]
Zahid was re-nominated to run in Scarborough Centre for the Liberals in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[4]
Zahid received criticism in November 2022 when she attended a 'solidarity' event with a publisher of Holocaust denialism.[6][7][8] She has also received criticism for her position on the 2023 Israeli-Hamas conflict, which stepped out of long standing tradition of Canadian and Liberal Party MPs political support for the State of Israel.[9][10][11] In January 2024, Zahid called on her colleagues in the House of Commons to support South Africa's application to prosecute Israel for genocide.[12]
Past election results
edit| 2021 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Salma Zahid | 23,128 | 57.6 | +2.3 | $104,544.73 | |||
| Conservative | Malcolm Ponnayan | 9,819 | 24.4 | +2.1 | $35,013.30 | |||
| New Democratic | Faiz Kamal | 5,479 | 13.6 | +1.9 | $8,952.20 | |||
| People's | Petru Rozoveanu | 1,472 | 3.7 | +1.2 | $0.00 | |||
| National Citizens Alliance | Aylwin T. Mathew | 263 | 0.7 | N/A | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 40,161 | 99.0 | – | $108,279.65 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 425 | 1.0 | ||||||
| Turnout | 40,586 | 54.8 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 74,078 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +0.1 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Salma Zahid | 25,695 | 55.3 | +4.80 | $100,475.79 | |||
| Conservative | Irshad Chaudhry | 10,387 | 22.3 | -10.40 | $88,298.94 | |||
| New Democratic | Faiz Kamal | 5,452 | 11.7 | +0.10 | $11,622.00 | |||
| Independent | John Cannis | 2,524 | 5.4 | $49,981.60 | ||||
| Green | Dordana Hakimzadah | 1,336 | 2.9 | +0.80 | none listed | |||
| People's | Jeremiah Vijeyaratnam | 1,162 | 2.5 | none listed | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,556 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 638 | |||||||
| Turnout | 47,194 | 62.4 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 75,662 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +7.60 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Salma Zahid | 22,753 | 50.5 | +18.61 | $111,259.09 | |||
| Conservative | Roxanne James | 14,705 | 32.7 | -2.18 | $96,481.13 | |||
| New Democratic | Alex Wilson | 5,227 | 11.6 | -19.06 | $24,264.68 | |||
| Libertarian | Katerina Androutsos | 1,384 | 3.1 | $1,452.03 | ||||
| Green | Lindsay Thompson | 960 | 2.1 | -0.47 | $1,627.92 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 45,029 | 100.00 | +22.33 | $203,985.80 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 407 | 0.90 | +0.33 | |||||
| Turnout | 45,436 | 64.36 | +10.02 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,594 | +0.46 | ||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.39% | ||||||
Source(s) | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Search For Contributions". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- ^ "Liberal candidate Salma Zahid wins Scarborough Centre". Toronto Star. October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Biography | Salma Zahid | Your member of parliament for Scarborough Centre". szahid.liberal.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
- ^ a b c Aiello, Rachel (August 22, 2018). "'A new low': Conservative robocall tries to exploit Liberal MP's cancer diagnosis". CTV News. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ a b Massa, Ginella (August 21, 2018). "Scarborough MP responds to criticism over wearing hijab, says she's recovering from cancer". CityNews Toronto. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ "Minister and MPs attend parliamentary reception with Holocaust denier". The Globe and Mail. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "MPs condemn controversial publisher's attendance at Parliament Hill reception - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Passifiume, Bryan (December 1, 2023). "Canadian MPs attend 'solidarity' event with publisher of Holocaust denialism". National Post.
- ^ "Liberal MP calls on Trudeau to back prosecution of Israel for genocide". National Post (The Canadian Press). January 10, 2024.
- ^ Hopper, Tristin. "FIRST READING: Terrorist sympathizers on Parliament Hill – Canada's Palestinian extremism problem | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- ^ "Liberal MP supports UN vote calling for a humanitarian ceasefire". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 14, 2023.
- ^ "Liberal MP calls on Trudeau to back prosecution of Israel for genocide". National Post. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2019.