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Jagrup Brar
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| Minister of State for Trade of British Columbia | |
| Assumed office December 7, 2022 | |
| Premier | David Eby |
| Preceded by | George Chow |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Fleetwood | |
| 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 | |
| Born | 1957 or 1958 (age 66–67)[2] Bathinda District, Punjab, India |
| Political party | New Democrat |
| Residence | Surrey, British Columbia |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba |
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Jagrup Brar is a Canadian politician. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in British Columbia, representing the riding of Surrey-Panorama Ridge from 2004 to 2009, then Surrey-Fleetwood from 2009 to 2013 and since 2017. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP), he has served as the province's minister of State for Trade since 2022.
Born in Bathinda District, Punjab, India,[3] Brar was part of the India men's national basketball team.[4][5] He moved to Canada to study at the University of Manitoba, where he received a Master's degree in Public Administration.[4] He then moved to Surrey, British Columbia, where he worked in career and entrepreneurship development for non-profit organizations, including as executive director of the Surrey Self Employment and Entrepreneur Development Society (SEEDS).[4][5]
He has two children with wife Rajwant.[4]
He first entered politics by running as the NDP candidate in the October 2004 by-election for the riding of Surrey-Panorama Ridge, triggered by the resignation of BC Liberal MLA Gulzar Cheema.[6] He won the by-election with 6,740 votes (53.59%), defeating Liberal candidate Mary Polak to become a member of British Columbia's 37th Legislative Assembly.[7] He was re-elected to the legislature by winning 11,553 votes (53.17%) in the 2005 provincial election,[8] and served as opposition deputy caucus chair and opposition critic for public safety and the Solicitor General in the 38th Legislative Assembly.[9]
With the NDP reserving the Surrey-Panorama riding for a female candidate in the 2009 provincial election,[10] Brar instead contested the newly established riding of Surrey-Fleetwood, winning the seat by 1,992 votes.[5][11] He was named critic for small business by NDP leader Adrian Dix in April 2011.[12]
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 BC at the time. Brar lived in a small room in Vancouver's 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 BC.[13]
In August 2012, Brar was criticized by Liberal MLA Bill Bennett for praising Cuba's health and education system on a Punjabi radio station after a holiday in the communist country.[14]
He was defeated in the 2013 provincial election by BC Liberal candidate Peter Fassbender by 200 votes.[5][15] He then ran for president of the BC NDP[16] but lost to Craig Keating at the November 2013 party convention.[17]
In the 2017 provincial election Brar defeated Fassbender in a re-match,[15] then won re-election in the 2020 provincial election.[18] He was acclaimed as caucus chair for the governing NDP on November 10, 2021, replacing outgoing chair Bob D'Eith.[19]
On December 7, 2022 he was named Minister of State for Trade by Premier David Eby.[20][21]
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| 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[22][23] | ||||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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[24][25] | ||||||||
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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[26] | ||||||||
| British Columbia provincial government of David Eby | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| George Chow | Minister of State for Trade December 7, 2022 – |
Incumbent |
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Current members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
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| New Democratic |
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| BC United |
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| Conservative |
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| Green |
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| Independent |
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Membership per the 2020 British Columbia general election on October 24, 2020, and subsequent by-elections. | |
