Iranian, Afghan Canadians win seats in Federal election

Nov 6, 2015

Last week, Dr. Reza Moridi, a Liberal Member of Ontario Parliament, and the first politician of Iranian ancestry elected to legislature in North America, congratulated the newly elected Liberal Members of Canadian Parliament, Majid Jowhari (Richmond Hill) and Ali Ehsassi (Willowdale), both of Iranian ancestry. Not only was this a significant win for Canada's Liberal Party as a whole, it is also the first time in Canadian history that two Iranian-Canadians are elected into the House of Commons (federal parliament).

Ehsassi (right) and Prime Minister Trudeau

Mr. Ehsassi has law degrees from York University’s Osgoode Hall and Georgetown University Law Center in the United States. He has held positions in the Ontario and federal civil service and practiced law in Toronto and Washington, D.C., with a focus on international trade.

The son of an Iranian diplomat who left revolutionary Iran, Mr. Ehsassi arrived in Canada when he was 15 years old. Born in Geneva and raised for a time in New York City, the young Ehsassi would come to see Canada as home.

Jowhari (left) and Prime Minister Trudeau

Majid Jowhari, a professional Engineer who owns an engineering consulting firm, also arrived in Canada from Iran. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Ryerson University, and an (MBA) from York University’s Schulich School of Business.

Other immigrants also made history: The first-ever MPs of Afghan and Somali heritage. There was a significant jump in visible-minority representation in Canada's incoming 42nd Parliament – a measure of growing integration and participation among minority communities. At least 46 visible-minority MPs were elected, the vast majority of them being Liberal. For example, Canada’s Somali community witnessed a first with the election of Ahmed Hussen in a northwest Toronto suburb.

Monsef (right) with Liberal Prime Minister Trudeau

Maryam Monsef, of Afghan ancestry, is Canada's new Minister of Democratic Institutions. Monsef, 30, was elected in a riding that the Conservatives have held since 2006. Her mother, a widow at the age of 23 in Afghanistan, decided to leave a country increasingly under the grip of the Taliban and moved to Canada in 1996 with her three girls. At the time, Maryam was 11 years old.

In her victory speech on Monday night, the Trent University graduate and long-time Peterborough community worker paid tribute to her mother and her courage: "It is not easy raising three girls – three very strong-minded girls – as a single mother. But she did it. And she did it in a country like Canada, where someone like me – 20 years later – can step up here."

Now a veteran politician and immigrant himself, Dr. Moridi, is optimistic on the future of immigrants, and particularly Iranian immigrants, in Canadian politics. According to his recent interview with Kodoom.com (link), there are also now Canadians of Iranian heritage in the following offices: Minster of Finance, Premier's Office, Minister of Health, Minister of Transportation, Ontario Liberal Party (Niloofar Rezaei Boroun) and Ontario Young Liberals (Najva Amin).

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