|
Rachna Singh
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Education and Child Care of British Columbia | |
| Assumed office December 7, 2022 | |
| Premier | David Eby |
| Preceded by | Jennifer Whiteside (Minister of Education) |
| Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives of British Columbia | |
| In office November 26, 2020 – December 7, 2022 | |
| Premier | John Horgan David Eby |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Mable Elmore |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Green Timbers | |
| Assumed office May 9, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Sue Hammell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1972 (age 51–52) Delhi, India[1] |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Gurpreet Singh |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Surrey, British Columbia |
| Alma mater | Panjab University (MA, Clinical Psychology) |
| |
Rachna Singh (born 1972) is a Canadian politician and trade unionist who has represented the electoral district of Surrey-Green Timbers in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia since 2017. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) caucus,[2] she has served as Minister of Education and Child Care of British Columbia since December 2022.
Singh was born in Delhi, and grew up in Chandigarh.[1][3] She attended Panjab University, from which she received a master's degree in psychology.[4] She moved to Canada in 2001, settling in Surrey, British Columbia.[3][4] Prior to her election to the legislature, Singh worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor. She became active in her labour union local, and eventually became a National Representative (staff) for the Canadian Union of Public Employees[3] representing workers through advocacy in grievance handling, labour arbitrations, organizing, community and political activism and helping advise local unions on matters of internal administration.
With incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Surrey-Green Timbers Sue Hammell declining to seek re-election in 2017, Singh decided to contest the BC NDP nomination for the riding.[5] She was acclaimed as the NDP's candidate,[3] then went on to defeat Liberal candidate and former Surrey-Green Timbers MLA Brenda Locke at the general election.[2]
After winning re-election in 2020,[6] Singh was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives by Premier John Horgan.[7] On December 7, 2022 she was named Minister of Education and Child Care by Premier David Eby.[8][9]
Singh is married to Gurpreet Singh, a journalist for the Georgia Straight and publisher of the Radical Desi magazine; they have two children together.[3] Both descend from families with a history of activism for various social and economic causes in their native India. She is a secular Sikh.[10]
|
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Rachna Singh | 8,171 | 59.59 | +1.40 | $31,108.56 | |||
| Liberal | Dilraj Atwal | 5,540 | 40.41 | +7.46 | $34,751.00 | |||
| Total valid votes | 13,711 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 224 | 1.61 | +0.56 | |||||
| Turnout | 13,935 | 47.20 | –7.41 | |||||
| Registered voters | 29,526 | |||||||
| Source: Elections BC[11][12] | ||||||||
|
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Rachna Singh | 8,945 | 58.29 | +0.23 | $58,322 | |||
| Liberal | Brenda Locke | 5,056 | 32.95 | −1.57 | $20,975 | |||
| Green | Saira Aujla | 1,112 | 7.25 | +3.2 | $7,739 | |||
| No affiliation | Vikram Bajwa | 163 | 1.06 | – | $7,980 | |||
| Your Political Party | Kanwaljit Singh Moti | 69 | 0.44 | – | $3,612 | |||
| Total valid votes | 15,345 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 163 | 1.05 | −0.14 | |||||
| Turnout | 15,508 | 54.61 | +2.29 | |||||
| Registered voters | 28,400 | |||||||
| Source: Elections BC[13][14] | ||||||||
| British Columbia provincial government of David Eby | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Jennifer Whiteside | Minister of Education and Child Care December 7, 2022 – |
Incumbent |
|
Current members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
| |
|---|---|
| New Democratic |
|
| BC United |
|
| Conservative |
|
| Green |
|
| Independent |
|
Membership per the 2020 British Columbia general election on October 24, 2020, and subsequent by-elections. | |
