Gurbax Singh Malhi
Gurbax Singh Malhi, the first turbaned Sikh politician elected anywhere in the western world, was born
on 12th October 1949 at Chugha Kalan, India. When he shifted to Canada, he started his career as a realtor.
However, he joined Liberal Party of Canada and was first elected as Member of Parliament for BramaleaGore-Malton in 1993, and served as its representative in the House of Commons for 18 consecutive years.
During this period he worked in different capacities and gained considerable awards and honours for the
same. He was Parliamentary Secretary in many Ministries like Labour (2001-2003), Industry (2003-04) and
Human Resources and Skills Development (2005) and Ministry of National Revenue (2005-06). He also
served on many joint committees and sub-committees and remained member of various Parliamentary
Associations like Canada-United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association, Canada-Africa Parliamentary
Association, Canada-China Legislative Association, Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Association, and
the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
He has been a role-model for the Sikhs as he opened their way to enter politics in Sikhi sarup in their
adoptive countries of the western world. Prior to 1993, Canadian law prohibited members of Parliament
from wearing headgear of any sort in the House of Commons. Malhi’s insistence on wearing a turban caused
the law to be changed shortly after the election. This role-model now lives in Brampton, Ontario and one of
his daughters Harinder Malhi is now a member of the provincial Parliament in the 41st legislative assembly
of Ontario from Brampton.
