Toronto: Former Indo-Canadian MP Ruby Dhalla has announced that she will participate in the leadership race of the ruling Liberal Party to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I hope that we’re going to make history, and create history as the first woman of Indian origin to be elected as Prime Minister of Canada,” she told the outlet CTV News in an interview on Wednesday.
She entered the race on the eve of the deadline for candidates to declare themselves, January 23, though her campaign will still have to submit the fee of 350,000 Canadian dollars ($243,195) to qualify.
Dhalla was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 from the erstwhile riding of Brampton-Springdale. She was -re-elected in 2006 and 2008, but lost in 2011 and opted not to contest in 2015 when the Liberals came into power with a majority.
Her victory in the 2004 Federal election made her, along with Conservative Nina Grewal, the first women of Indian origin to be elected to the House.
Other than her stint in politics, Dhalla has also been a model, and is currently a hotelier.
She touted that latter experience, and said it was important to “have someone who has actually run a business but has started from the grassroots and from the ground up”.
She also said it was important to “bring Canada’s stature back on the world stage”.
Dhalla pointed out that she travelled to Washington for the inaugural events on January 20, as President Donald Trump was sworn in. She said she met Secretary of State Marco Rubio at one of them and underscored the necessity of the two countries working collaboratively.
Dhalla is the latest entrant into the race which features headliners former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and former central banker Mark Carney. Also present are Cabinet Minister Karina Gould and Indo-Canadian MP Chandra Arya.
The leadership race was precipitated by Trudeau’s announcement on January 6 that he intended to resign once a new leader of the ruling party was elected. That election process is scheduled to conclude on March 9.
