Sarkis Assadourian (born January 25, 1948) is a Canadian politician from the Liberal Party of Canada. He became the first Armenian-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons,[1] with great support of the Armenian community of Toronto.
Sarkis Assadourian | |
|---|---|
 Assadourian in October 2005 | |
| Member of Parliament for Brampton Centre (Don Valley North; 1993–1997) | |
| In office October 25, 1993 – June 28, 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Barbara Greene |
| Succeeded by | Riding abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 25, 1948 Aleppo, Syria |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Zaza |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Profession | Judge |
Background
editAssadourian was born in Aleppo, Syria. His family emigrated soon after. He studied painting at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1970 he moved to Toronto where he worked as a property manager. He also worked as a consultant on multiculturalism for both the provincial and federal governments.[2]
Assadourian and his wife Zaza have four children. He remains a supporter of Armenian causes and is an active member of the Richmond Hill Provincial Liberal Association.
Politics
editIn 1988, Assadourian entered politics as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Don Valley North. He won the Liberal nomination over rival Sarmite Bulte.[3] During the campaign debate he said that he wanted, "honest and open government, for a change." The New Democratic Party candidate, Anton Kuerti reminded him that the Tories were elected in 1984 criticising the Liberals on the same issue.[4] Assadourian stated that he was staunchly against abortion which was a hot button issue during the campaign.[2] He lost the election to Conservative candidate Barbara Greene by 604 votes.
In 1993 he ran again and this time won against Greene by 14,054 votes in what was a general rout of the Conservatives in Toronto and nationwide.[5] In 1997, Assadourian moved seats to Brampton Centre.[1] In 2003, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He did not run in the 2004 election.
Assadourian ran in the 2010 Richmond Hill Municipal Elections in Ward 3. He placed fifth out of seven candidates. He ran again in 2022 in Ward 5, placing eighth out of 10 candidates.
After politics
editHe now serves as a Citizenship Judge in Toronto.[6]
Electoral record
edit| 2000 Canadian federal election: Brampton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Sarkis Assadourian | 18,365 | 50.64 | +1.79 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Beryl Ford | 9,229 | 25.45 | +10.70 | ||||
| Alliance | Prabhat Kapur | 6,247 | 17.23 | –11.16 | ||||
| New Democratic | Sue Slean | 1,795 | 4.95 | –2.72 | ||||
| Green | Andrew K. Roy | 628 | 1.73 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 36,264 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | –4.46 | ||||||
| 1997 Canadian federal election: Brampton Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Sarkis Assadourian | 18,615 | 48.85 | |||||
| Reform | Don Crawford | 10,817 | 28.39 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sam Hundal | 5,621 | 14.75 | |||||
| New Democratic | Paul Ferreira | 2,923 | 7.67 | |||||
| Marxist–Leninist | André Vachon | 127 | 0.33 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 38,103 | 100.0 | ||||||
| 1993 Canadian federal election: Don Valley North (federal electoral district) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Sarkis Assadourian | 22,504 | 59.86 | +17.93 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Barbara Greene | 7,238 | 19.25 | –24.18 | ||||
| Reform | Peter Cobbold | 6,068 | 16.14 | |||||
| New Democratic | David Lu | 1,395 | 3.71 | –8.11 | ||||
| Natural Law | William J. Sparling | 319 | 0.85 | |||||
| Abolitionist | Lindsay George King | 69 | 0.18 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 37,593 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | +21.06 | ||||||
| 1988 Canadian federal election: Don Valley North (federal electoral district) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Barbara Greene | 17,551 | 43.43 | |||||
| Liberal | Sarkis Assadourian | 16,947 | 41.94 | |||||
| New Democratic | Anton Kuerti | 4,777 | 11.82 | |||||
| Independent | Bernadette Michael | 577 | 1.43 | |||||
| Libertarian | Earl Epsteine | 560 | 1.39 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 40,412 | 100.0 | ||||||
References
edit- ^ a b Sarkis Assadourian – Parliament of Canada biography
- ^ a b Picard, Andre (1988-11-18). "Pianist, two painters ply their political art in Don Valley North". The Globe and Mail. p. A3.
- ^ Smith, Dan (1988-09-26). "High road pays off for Liberal hopeful". Toronto Star. p. A7.
- ^ Lakey, Jack (1988-11-07). "Candidates' meeting saved from snores". Toronto Star. p. A7.
- ^ Makin, Kirk; Smith, Vivian (1993-10-26). "Election '93 Liberal powerhouse sweeps in Metro Toronto Tories fail to take single riding as voters paint the town red". The Globe and Mail. p. D5.
- ^ "2007–2008 Annual Report, Office of the Senior Citizenship Judge". Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Retrieved 2009-10-06.