Bardish Chagger

Last updated

In July 2020, Chagger was the first witness who testified in front of a parliamentary committee investigating awarding of a sole-sourced contract to run Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) to WE Charity, an organization with ties to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Chagger was the one who signed the contracts with WE Charity, and had met with WE Charity days before student program was announced by Trudeau. [16] [17] Originally it was reported that WE charity would get a payment of at least $19.5 million, later it was disclosed that the contract was paying them up to $43.5 million to run student volunteer grant program. Chagger testified that it was the public service that recommended the grant program be outsourced to a third party via a contribution agreement, specifically it was Assistant Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development Rachel Wernick. [18]

Removal from Cabinet

The Prime Minister removed Chagger from Cabinet in 2021, less than two years after holding the role of Government House Leader, one of the most prominent Cabinet roles. [6] Chagger declined to speculate why she was removed entirely from Cabinet. [19] She has remained a backbench Member of Parliament since, and the Prime Minister has declined to return her to Cabinet. [20]

Committee Chair

On December 3, 2021 Chagger became Chair of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. She unexpectedly resigned from the committee on April 29, 2024.

Electoral record

Bardish Chagger
PC MP
Waterloo MP 2017.jpg
Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth
In office
November 20, 2019 October 26, 2021
2021 Canadian federal election : Waterloo
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Bardish Chagger 26,92645.1-3.7$107,712.63
Conservative Meghan Shannon16,52827.7+3.2$61,976.35
New Democratic Jonathan Cassels11,36019.0+3.8$11,709.64
People's Patrick Doucette2,8024.7+3.0$7,490.55
Green Karla Villagomez Fajardo2,0383.4-6.3$4,629.92
Total valid votes/Expense limit59,65499.4$115.523.52
Total rejected ballots3530.6
Turnout60,00769.4
Eligible voters86,456
Liberal hold Swing -3.5
Source: Elections Canada [21]
2019 Canadian federal election : Waterloo
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Bardish Chagger 31,08548.8-0.9$107,088.00
Conservative Jerry Zhang15,61524.5-7.8$84,796.68
New Democratic Lori Campbell 9,71015.2+0.3none listed
Green Kirsten Wright6,1849.7+6.8none listed
People's Erika Traub1,1121.7$5,385.50
Total valid votes/expense limit63,706100.0   112,180.38
Total rejected ballots4170.65+0.33
Turnout64,12374.76-2.9
Eligible voters85,761
Liberal hold Swing +3.45
Source: Elections Canada, [22] Global News [23]
2015 Canadian federal election : Waterloo
PartyCandidateVotes%±%Expenditures
Liberal Bardish Chagger 29,75249.7+11.38$140,131.74
Conservative Peter Braid 19,31832.3-9.08$148,370.13
New Democratic Diane Freeman8,92814.9-0.04$96,964.67
Green Richard Walsh1,7132.9-1.78
Animal Alliance Emma Hawley-Yan1380.2$4,066.17
Total valid votes/expense limit59,849100.0   $212,120.63
Total rejected ballots198
Turnout60,047
Eligible voters77,312
Source: Elections Canada [24] [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic LeBlanc</span> Canadian politician (born 1967)

Dominic A. LeBlanc is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, LeBlanc sits as the member of Parliament (MP) for Beauséjour, representing the New Brunswick riding in the House of Commons since 2000. He has held a number of Cabinet portfolios throughout his tenure in government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence MacAulay</span> Canadian politician (born 1946)

Lawrence A. MacAulay is a Canadian politician, who has represented the riding of Cardigan, Prince Edward Island in the House of Commons since 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rona Ambrose</span> Canadian politician

Ronalee Ambrose Veitch is a former Canadian politician who was interim leader of the Conservative Party and the leader of the Opposition between 2015 and 2017. She was the Conservative Party member of the House of Commons for Sturgeon River—Parkland between 2015 and 2017, and had previously represented Edmonton—Spruce Grove from 2004 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Liberals of Canada</span>

The Young Liberals of Canada (YLC) is the national youth wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. All members of the Liberal Party aged 25 and under are automatically members of the YLC. The Young Liberals of Canada are an official commission of the Liberal Party and the largest youth political organization in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filomena Tassi</span> Canadian politician

Filomena Tassi is a Canadian politician who has served as the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario since August 31, 2022. A member of the Liberal Party, Tassi represents the riding of Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas in the House of Commons, taking office following the 2015 federal election. She served as the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Receiver General for Canada from 2021 to 2022, as the Minister of Labour from 2019 to 2021, and as the Minister of Seniors from 2018 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Foote</span> Canadian politician

Judy May Foote is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to hold the position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Braid</span> Canadian businessman and politician

Peter Braid is a Canadian businessman and former politician, who served as the Member of Parliament for Kitchener—Waterloo from 2008 to 2015. While in office he served as Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities. He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">29th Canadian Ministry</span> Government of Canada since 2015

The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry is the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Rideau Hall on November 4, 2015. Those who were not already members of the privy council were sworn into it in the same ceremony. The Cabinet currently consists of 35 members including Trudeau, with 17 women and 18 men. When the ministry was first sworn in, with 15 men and 15 women, it became the first gender-balanced cabinet in Canadian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Hussen</span> Canadian politician (born 1976)

Ahmed Hussen is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the Minister of International Development since July 26, 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Hussen has also sat as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-area riding of York South—Weston since the 2015 federal election. He previously served as the Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion from 2021 to 2023, Minister of families, children and social development from 2019 to 2021 and the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship from 2017 to 2019. He is the first Somali-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons and the first to hold a federal Cabinet position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gudie Hutchings</span> Canadian politician (born 1959)

Gudrid Ida "Gudie" Hutchings is a Canadian politician serves as Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. A member of the Liberal Party, Hutchings has represented Long Range Mountains in the House of Commons since the 2015 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Mendicino</span> Canadian politician (born 1973)

Marco Mendicino is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Eglinton—Lawrence in the House of Commons since 2015. He served as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship from 2019 to 2021 and the Minister of Public Safety from 2021 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celina Caesar-Chavannes</span> Canadian politician (born 1974)

Celina R. Caesar-Chavannes is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Whitby in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. Elected as a Liberal in the 2015 federal election, she later sat as an independent member. Caesar-Chavannes also unsuccessfully ran in the 2023 Toronto mayoral by-election, placing thirty-ninth out of 102 candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Fergus</span> Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since 2023

Gregory Cristophe Fergus is a Canadian politician who has served as the 38th and current speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since October 3, 2023. He is the member of Parliament (MP) for Hull—Aylmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamal Khera</span> Canadian politician (born 1989)

Kamalpreet Khera PC MP is a Canadian politician who has been minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities since July 26, 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Khera has represented the riding of Brampton West in the House of Commons since the 2015 federal election. She also served as the minister of seniors from October 26, 2021 to July 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Bendayan</span> Canadian politician (born 1980)

Rachel Bendayan is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on February 25, 2019, following the resignation of former New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair. She was re-elected in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. She represents the electoral district of Outremont as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, In December 2019, she was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to serve as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, Mary Ng.

The SNC-Lavalin affair is a political scandal involving attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Parliament of Canada's Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found that Trudeau improperly influenced then Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in an ongoing criminal case against Quebec-based construction company SNC-Lavalin by offering a deferred prosecution agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">43rd Canadian Parliament</span> Parliamentary term of the Parliament of Canada

The 43rd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 5, 2019, to August 15, 2021, with the membership of its Lower House, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2019 federal election held on October 21, 2019. Parliament officially resumed on December 5, 2019, with the election of a new Speaker, Anthony Rota, followed by a speech from the throne the following day. On August 15, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and issue the writ of election, leading to a 5-week election campaign period for the 2021 federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karina Gould</span> Canadian politician (born 1987)

Karina Gould is a Canadian politician who has been the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons since July 26, 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, she has served as member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Burlington in the House of Commons since October 19, 2015. Gould was first appointed to Cabinet on February 1, 2017 as the minister of democratic institutions, serving in the role until she was appointed as the minister of international development on November 20, 2019, and has since then served in two other portfolios. Gould is the youngest woman to serve as a Cabinet minister in Canadian history. Gould went on maternity leave in January 2024 and was temporarily replaced as House Leader by Steven MacKinnon, but is expected to return to the position at the end of July 2024.

A political scandal took place in Canada in 2020 regarding the awarding of a federal contract to WE Charity to administer the $912 million Canada Student Service Grant program (CSSG). The controversy arose when it was revealed that the WE charity had previously paid close family of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appear at its events, despite making claims to the contrary. In total, Craig Kielburger confirmed at a parliamentary committee, WE Charity paid approximately $425,000 to Trudeau's family including expenses. WE Charity also used pictures of Trudeau's family members as celebrity endorsements in their application. Trudeau stated that WE Charity had been uniquely capable of administering the program as "the only possible option", and that it was the civil service, not him, who decided that WE Charity was the best option. It was noted that not only had the charity employed a daughter of former Finance Minister Bill Morneau but a close relationship existed between the minister and members of its staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">45th Canadian federal election</span> Next general election in Canada

The 45th Canadian federal election will take place on or before October 20, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. The date of the vote is determined by the fixed-date provisions of the Canada Elections Act, which requires federal elections to be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after the polling day of the previous election, though a current government bill proposes to postpone the date to October 27, 2025 to avoid conflicting with Diwali. In addition to the statutory fixed election date provisions, Canada has a constitutional requirement specified in both section 50 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and section 4 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that elections for the House of Commons must be called no more than five years after the writs for the preceding election are returned.

References

  1. "Liberal Chagger takes Waterloo", Waterloo Region Record , 20 October 2015.
  2. "19 Indian-Canadians elected to Canadian parliament". The Economic Times. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Bardish Chagger adds government House leader to small business, tourism duties". CBC News. 19 August 2016.
  4. "Documents requested by House prove youth minister was key driver in WE decision: NDP - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  5. Norris, Craig (2020-07-21). "Waterloo MP Chagger says she won't resign over WE Charity scandal". CBC News.
  6. 1 2 "Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger loses post in Trudeau's cabinet shuffle | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  7. D'Amato, Luisa (15 December 2017). "Bardish Chagger's politics are always local, and her office rarely locked". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 Mercer, Greg (27 October 2015). "Newly elected Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger loves the political life". The Waterloo Region Record . Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 "Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger named to Justin Trudeau's cabinet". CBC News. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. Record Staff, Waterloo MP Chagger named to federal cabinet, The Waterloo Region Record, November 4, 2015
  11. Harris, Kathleen (July 18, 2018). "Trudeau cabinet shuffle brings new faces, several changes for run-up to 2019 campaign". CBC News. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  12. CBC News (2019-11-20). "Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger named minister of diversity and inclusion and youth". CBC News.
  13. Office, Privy Council (2017-03-10). "Reforming the Standing Orders of the House of Commons". aem. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  14. "Government House Leader Bardish Chagger's letter to her opposition counterparts | Government". Scribd. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  15. "Liberals shelve House of Commons reform plans after opposition criticism - National | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  16. "Liberal minister Bardish Chagger met with WE Charity days before student program was announced by Trudeau". thestar.com. 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  17. "Waterloo MP Chagger says she won't resign over WE Charity scandal". CBC News. Jul 21, 2020. Retrieved Aug 2, 2020.
  18. "Trudeau government was willing to pay WE Charity up to $43.5M to run student volunteer grant program". National Post. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  19. "Q&A: Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger addresses ousting from Liberal cabinet". Kitchener. 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  20. "ROLES - HON. BARDISH CHAGGER". House of Commons. 2024-01-14.
  21. "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada . Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  22. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  23. "Canada election results: Waterloo". GlobalNews. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  24. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Waterloo, 30 September 2015
  25. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet posts (3)
PredecessorOfficeSuccessor
Position established Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth
November 20, 2019 – October 26, 2021
Ahmed Hussen
(Diversity and Inclusion)
Marci Ien (Youth)
Dominic LeBlanc Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
August 19, 2016 – November 20, 2019
Pablo Rodriguez
Maxime Bernier Minister of Small Business and Tourism
November 4, 2015 – July 18, 2018
Mary Ng
(Small Business)
Melanie Joly (Tourism)