Sukh Dhaliwal

Sukh Dhaliwal MP
ਸੁਖ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Surrey—Newton
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Jinny Sims
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Newton—North Delta
In office January 23, 2006 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Gurmant Grewal
Succeeded by	Jinny Sims
Personal details
Born	October 1, 1960 Sujapur, Ludhiana, Punjab
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Balwinder "Roni" Dhaliwal
Residence	Surrey, British Columbia
Profession	Businessman, politician

Sukhdev "Sukh" Dhaliwal, (Punjabi: ਸੁਖ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ) (born October 1, 1960) is a businessman and politician in British Columbia, Canada, who was the Liberal Member of Parliament for Newton—North Delta from 2006 to 2011.

Born in Punjab, India, Dhaliwal emigrated from India in 1984 and became a Canadian citizen three years later. As a businessman, he founded a successful land surveying company and played an important role in the municipal politics of Surrey where he is said to have dominated the Surrey Electors Team membership list by signing up over 2,600 new party members. This represented over half the total number of members. However, in the November 1999 municipal elections Dhaliwal lost his own bid for a seat on city council.

He was the federal Liberal candidate for the Newton-North Delta riding in 2004, but lost to Conservative Gurmant Grewal by just over 500 votes. Grewal decided to not seek re-election, and in 2006 Dhaliwal faced Conservative newcomer Phil Eidsvik. The NDP was also strong in the riding, and 2004 candidate Nancy Clegg, also ran again. Dhaliwal succeeded in winning the seat by 1000 votes.

In the 2006 Liberal leadership campaign, Dhaliwal initially supported Joe Volpe. After Volpe encountered a fundraising scandal, Dhaliwal withdrew his support and moved to support Michael Ignatieff. Dhaliwal was instrumental in building support for Ignatieff's campaign in the Sikh community. Dhaliwal played a key role in Ignatieff’s short-lived, but successful, second leadership campaign in 2008.

Dhalwal in 2008 had written to a U.S. District Court judge on official House of Commons stationery in support of convicted international drug trafficker Ranjit Singh Cheema.^[1]

On October 14, 2008 Dhaliwal was re-elected to Parliament by 2500 votes, defeating the NDP’s Teresa Townsley, a Delta School Board trustee, and the Conservative Party’s Sandeep Pandher. Following the election, Dhaliwal was elected as the Chair of the Northern and Western Caucus of the Official Opposition, and served as the critic for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Dhaliwal has served on several House of Commons Committees: International Trade; Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities; and Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. The Ethics Committee attracted high profile attention when it investigated allegations surrounding Karlheinz Schreiber’s dealings with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

He lost to Jinny Sims of the New Democratic Party in the 2011 election.

On October 31, 2012 it was reported he is seeking the British Columbia Liberal Party nomination in Surrey-Panorama Ridge for the 2013 Provincial Election.^[2] The seat was held by Stephanie Cadieux however Cadieux is moving to Surrey-Cloverdale after current MLA Kevin Falcon announced he was not seeking re-election.^[3]

After a BC Liberal Party review of his candidacy, he eventually decided to withdraw from running in the provincial election after he was charged with six counts of tax evasion and convicted of 3 counts for his business that he runs with his wife. Balwinder Kaur Dhaliwal (nicknamed herself "Roni"), a Surrey bylaw officer, who was charged with 14 offences and convicted of 6 counts of tax evasion under the Criminal Code of Canada. She was never fired from her job as bylaw officer by the City of Surrey or by then mayor Dianne Watts.^[4]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Surrey—Newton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	24,869	55.98	+21.90	–
	New Democratic	Jinny Sims	11,604	26.12	-9.17	–
	Conservative	Harpreet Singh	6,976	15.70	-11.72	–
	Green	Pamela Sangha	975	2.2	-0.40	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			44,424	100.0		$197,640.76
Total rejected ballots			–	–	–
Turnout			44,424	68.55	–
Eligible voters			64,798
	Liberal notional gain from New Democratic		Swing		+15.54
Source: Elections Canada[5][6]

Canadian federal election, 2011: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jinny Sims	15,413	33.42	+7.29
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	14,510	31.46	-4.96
	Conservative	Mani Kaur Fallon	14,437	31.30	+0.39
	Green	Liz Walker	1,520	3.30	-2.30
	Independent	Ravi S. Gill	123	0.27	–
	Communist	Sam Hammond	116	0.25	-0.02
Total valid votes/Expense limit			46,119	100.00
Total rejected ballots			294	0.63	+0.07
Turnout			46,413	62.59	+0.52
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.79

Canadian federal election, 2008: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	16,481	36.42	+2.17	$79,459
	Conservative	Sandeep Pandher	13,988	30.91	+0.29	$79,709
	New Democratic	Teresa Townsley	11,824	26.13	-5.83	$41,739
	Green	Liz Walker	2,533	5.60	+3.65	$2,243
	Independent	James W. Miller-Cousineau	179	0.40	–
	Independent	John Shavluk	126	0.28	–
	Communist	Harjit Daudharia	121	0.27	+0.01	$377
Total valid votes/Expense limit			45,252	100.00	$81,605
Total rejected ballots			255	0.56	+0.16
Turnout			45,507	62.07	-1.02
	Liberal hold		Swing		+4.00

Canadian federal election, 2006: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	15,006	34.25	+2.70	$76,831
	New Democratic	Nancy Clegg	14,006	31.96	+2.76	$50,542
	Conservative	Phil Eidsvik	13,416	30.62	-2.20	$76,831
	Green	Sunny Athwal	853	1.95	-4.25	$12,622
	Independent	Rob Girn	319	0.73	–
	Communist	Harjit Daudharia	112	0.26	+0.02	$379
	Independent	Mike Saifie	106	0.24	–
Total valid votes			43,818	100.00
Total rejected ballots			174	0.40	-0.12
Turnout			43,992	63.09	0
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+2.45

Canadian federal election, 2004: Newton—North Delta
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Gurmant Grewal	13,529	32.82	–	$72,183
	Liberal	Sukh Dhaliwal	13,009	31.55	–	$64,449
	New Democratic	Nancy Clegg	12,037	29.20	–	$28,384
	Green	John Hague	2,535	6.20	–	$3,135
	Communist	Nazir Rizvi	98	0.24	–	$389
Total valid votes			41,228	100.0
Total rejected ballots			216	0.52
Turnout			41,444	63

References

1. "Ranjit Cheema gunned down". Canada.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
2. Fowlie, Jonathan. "Former MP Dhaliwal to run for B.C. Liberals". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
3. Fowlie, Jonathan. "Kevin Falcon announces retirement; steps down as finance minister". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
4. "B.C. Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal faces tax-evasion charges". globalnews.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
5. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Surrey—Newton, 30 September 2015
6. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Sukh Dhaliwal
• Parliament webpage
• Vancouver Sun International Drug Trafficker Letter