In the recent Municipal council elections, Indo-Canadian healthcare worker Navjit Kaur Brar became the first turban-wearing Sikh woman to be elected as a Brampton City Councillor.
Navjit Kaur Brar won the race for City Councillor in Wards 2 and 6, defeating Jermaine Chambers, a former Conservative MP candidate for Brampton West.
Worked on a healthcare
Brar was born and raised in Brampton and works as a respiratory therapist. She has very little political experience. During the pandemic, Brar worked on the front lines of healthcare. She has occasionally volunteered for public office.
Brar, a mother of three, said she campaigned vigorously with many volunteers working hard. As well as going door-to-door and reaching people personally, she believes that her status as an independent helped her during this election. As part of her campaign, she knocked on over 40,000 doors and spoke to over 22,500 residents in the last
two months, she claimed in interviews.
Brar previously ran as the Ontario NDP candidate in Brampton West, losing to incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Amarjot Sandhu.
Wards 2 and 6 were two of three Brampton electoral wards with no incumbent. Former city councillor Doug Whillans chose not to run, leaving the race wide open. With nine candidates running, the race was open to all.
By 9.25 p.m. on Monday, 93% of the votes had been cast, and the election had been declared by front-runner Brar and others. Brar received 28.85 percent of the vote. She was the winner, with Chambers coming in second with 22.59 percent and Carmen Wilson coming in third with 15.41 percent.
