Jagrup Brar

Jagrup Brar is a Canadian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in British Columbia, Canada. He represented the ridings of Surrey-Panorama Ridge from 2004 to 2009 and Surrey-Fleetwood from 2009 to 2013 and since 2017 as a member of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia.

Jagrup Brar
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Fleetwood
Incumbent
Assumed office May 9, 2017
Preceded by	Peter Fassbender
In office May 12, 2009 – May 14, 2013
Preceded by	Riding Established
Succeeded by	Peter Fassbender
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Panorama Ridge
In office October 28, 2004 – May 12, 2009
Preceded by	Gulzar Cheema
Succeeded by	Stephanie Cadieux^[1]
Personal details
Political party	New Democrat

Background

Born in India,^[2] Brar moved to Canada for his studies at the University of Manitoba where he received a Master's degree in Public Administration.^[2] In 1994 he moved to Surrey.^{[citation needed]}

For over a decade, Brar worked in both the public and non-profit sectors, helping professionals develop their careers, and working with employers to develop strategies meant for recruiting a highly skilled as well as multicultural workforce.^[3] As the former executive director of the Surrey Self Employment and Entrepreneur Development Society (SEEDS), he helped trained new entrepreneurs in developing and launching successful small business ventures.

Political career

He was first elected in October 2004 during a by-election with 6,740 votes (53.59%) ^[4] He then became a member of British Columbia's 37th Legislative Assembly.^[5] He was also a member of BC's 38th Legislative Assembly ^[6] after being elected in 2005 with 11,553 votes (53.17%).^[7]

In early 2012 Brar participated in the Raise the Rates MLA Welfare Challenge by living on $610 for one month, the standard wage given to welfare recipients in B.C. at the time. Brar lived in a small room in Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside for part of the month-long challenge. He lost 26 pounds during the event and reported feeling constantly hungry and his mind "fuzzy" due to a lack of adequate nutrition and sleep. He kept a blog of his experiences and the media exposure surrounding the event significantly raised public awareness of welfare rates in B.C.^[8]

In August 2012, Brar was criticized by B.C.'s Liberal Party for praising Cuba's health and education system on a Punjabi radio station after a holiday in the communist country.^[9]

He was defeated in the 2013 provincial election by BC Liberal candidate Peter Fassbender. In the 2017 provincial election Brar defeated Fassbender in a re-match.

Electoral record

v t e 2020 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Fleetwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jagrup Brar	11,457	60.93	+7.51	$61,844.02
	Liberal	Garry Thind	5,776	30.72	−5.03	$62,863.75
	Green	Dean McGee	1,571	8.35	−2.48	$702.09
Total valid votes			18,804	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			138	0.73	−0.04
Turnout			18,942	50.77	−8.75
Registered voters			37,309
Source: Elections BC^[10]^[11]

v t e 2017 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Fleetwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Jagrup Brar	11,085	53.58	+9.17	$74,487
	Liberal	Peter Fassbender	7,599	36.73	−8.70	$66,268
	Green	Tim Binnema	2,004	9.69	+3.88	$879
Total valid votes			20,688	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			160	0.77	+0.10
Turnout			20,848	59.52	+3.80
Registered voters			35,025
Source: Elections BC^[12]^[13]

v t e 2013 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Fleetwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Peter Fassbender	8,974	45.43	+5.89	$191,875
	New Democratic	Jagrup Brar	8,774	44.41	−4.88	$74,514
	Green	Tim Binnema	1,147	5.81	−0.62	$1,641
	Conservative	Murali Krishnan	801	4.05	−0.66	$1,275
	Vision	Arvin Kumar	59	0.30	–	$2,195
Total valid votes			19,755	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			134	0.67	−0.33
Turnout			19,889	55.72	+1.76
Registered voters			35,692
Source: Elections BC^[14]

References

1. Surrey-Panorama
2. "Jagrup Brar". www.leg.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
3. [1] 2006-06-27 at the Wayback Machine - New Democrats
4. [2] 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine - 2004 By-election results
5. [3] 2006-10-03 at the Wayback Machine 37th Legislative Assembly
6. [4] 2006-02-21 at the Wayback Machine 38th Legislative Assembly
7. [5] 2006-10-08 at the Wayback Machine BC elections
8. "NDP MLA Jagrup Brar prepares to bring welfare lessons back to B.C. legislature". The Georgia Straight. January 25, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
9. "Liberal accuses B.C. NDP MLA of pushing communism". CBC News. August 28, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
10. "Statement of Votes — 42nd Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 8 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
12. "2017 Provincial General Election - Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
13. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
14. "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.