Ya'ara Saks
Ya'ara Saks MP (born March 9, 1973) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on October 26, 2020,[2] following the resignation of Michael Levitt. She represents the riding of York Centre as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Ya'ara Saks | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for York Centre | |
| Assumed office October 26, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Levitt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 9, 1973 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian and Israeli |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Bathurst Manor, North York, Toronto[1] |
| Alma mater | McGill University, Hebrew University |
Early life
A dual citizen of Canada and of Israel,[3] Saks was born in Toronto to an Israeli father and has lived in both Israel (1995 to 2006) and Canada.[4] She attended McGill University for her undergraduate education, and then completed her Master's degree in international relations and diplomacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[4] Before entering politics, Saks owned a yoga studio in York Centre (in the north end of Toronto) and was the director of Trauma Practice for Healthy Communities, a charity that focuses on mental health.[4]
Views on Israeli Politics
Saks has been deeply critical of the direction of the Netanyahu government in Israel for its treatment of its Israeli Arab citizens and the 2018 Nation-State law and has expressed the concern that it is leading Israel to be "deeply racist towards its minorities and ... not to see itself as a light and shelter or future home to asylum seekers fleeing war," as well as its elevation of leadership at the expense of the justice system.[5]
Despite her differences with the Likud government, Saks has stated that she is "an unapologetic Zionist who believes passionately in the State of Israel" and that she condemns the BDS Movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel), considering it antisemitic.[3]
Canadian Federal politics
Saks won the 2020 York Centre federal by-election as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Upon being sworn in as a member of Canada's House of Commons (along with fellow rookie parliamentarian Marci Ien) it took the number of female MPs in Canada to 100, which, at 30%, is the highest proportion of women in that chamber in its history.[6]
In February 2022, when speaking in the House about confirming the Emergencies Act in response to the "Freedom Convoy" protest, Saks claimed that "honk honk" (a phrase used by convoy supporters in reference to truck horns) was "an acronym for 'heil Hitler'".[7] Saks doubled down on her claim via Twitter, citing "antifascist" and "organizer" Gwen Snyder, who posted a 4chan post that promoted using the claim as a prank[8] — similar to the site's previous hoax that the "OK" hand gesture was code for “white power”.[9]
Electoral record
| 2021 Canadian federal election: York Centre | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Ya'ara Saks | 17,430 | 47.3 | +1.6 | ||||
| Conservative | Joel Yakov Etienne | 13,949 | 37.8 | –4.0 | ||||
| New Democratic | Kemal Ahmed | 3,753 | 10.2 | +4.4 | ||||
| People's | Nixon Nguyen | 1,726 | 4.7 | +1.1 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 36,858 | 98.6 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 507 | 1.4 | ||||||
| Turnout | 37,365 | 53.4 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 69,971 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +2.8 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada | ||||||||
| Canadian federal by-election, October 26, 2020: York Centre Resignation of Michael Levitt | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Ya'ara Saks | 8,253 | 45.70 | −4.50 | ||||
| Conservative | Julius Tiangson | 7,552 | 41.82 | +5.11 | ||||
| New Democratic | Andrea Vásquez Jiménez | 1,046 | 5.79 | −4.05 | ||||
| People's | Maxime Bernier | 642 | 3.56 | – | ||||
| Green | Sasha Zavarella | 461 | 2.55 | −0.70 | ||||
| Independent | John The Engineer Turmel | 104 | 0.58 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 18,058 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 18,058 | 25.64 | −36.12 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,434 | |||||||
| [10] | ||||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −4.81 | ||||||
References
- ^ "Search For Contributions". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- ^ Muriel Draaisma, "Federal Liberals hold onto Toronto Centre, York Centre in byelections". CBC News, October 26, 2020.
- ^ a b "Statement From York Centre Liberal Candidate Ya'ara Saks". Canadian Jewish Record. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Sarick, Lila (5 October 2020). "Israeli-Canadian Ya'ara Saks is Liberal Hopeful in York Centre". Canadian Jewish Record.
- ^ Saks, Ya'ara (12 September 2019). "On September 17th I'm Electing to Take Israel Off the Mantel to Teach My Kids Another Way". Confessions of a Backbench Mom. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Paez, Beatrice (27 October 2020). "Byelection results should give Liberals 'pause' after strong showing from Greens, Conservatives, say experts". The Hill Times. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Toronto MP thinks a Freedom Convoy term is call for Hitler". National Post. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
- ^ Nerozzi, Timothy (2022-02-22). "Canadian MP claims 'honk honk' is code for 'heil Hitler'". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
- ^ "When is the 'OK' gesture not OK?". BBC News. 16 May 2019.
- ^ Elections Canada. "Official Voting Results". Retrieved October 27, 2020.
External links
- Ya'ara Saks – Parliament of Canada biography