List of Asian-Canadian first ministers

There have been four first ministers of a Canadian government of Asian descent. Of these, all four served premiers of a province or territory; no person of Asian descent has ever served as Prime Minister of Canada. ^[a]

Asian-Canadians have been eligible to become first ministers since they gained the right to vote, beginning in 1947. The four Asian-Canadians who have held this office are Joe Ghiz and Robert Ghiz of Prince Edward Island, Ujjal Dosanjh of British Columbia, and Ranj Pillai of Yukon. Dosanjh and Pillai earned their positions through a party leadership race within their political party while it was in government, while both Joe and Robert Ghiz won the title by defeating an incumbent premier in a general election. No two Asian-Canadian first ministers have ever served concurrently.

Fifteen Asian-Canadians have served as the leader of a political party with representation in the legislature.

First ministers

Four Asian-Canadians have served as first ministers, all at the provincial or territorial level.

	Image	Premier	Province/Territory	Ancestry	Took office	Left office	Duration	Mandates	Party
		Joe Ghiz (1945–1996) [1]	Prince Edward Island	Lebanese	2 May 1986	25 January 1993	6 years, 268 days	1986 Election 1989 Election	Liberal
		Ujjal Dosanjh (b. 1947) [2]	British Columbia	Indian	24 February 2000	5 June 2001	1 year, 101 days	2000 Designation	New Democratic
		Robert Ghiz (b. 1974) [3]	Prince Edward Island	Lebanese	12 June 2007	23 February 2015	7 years, 256 days	2007 Election 2011 Election	Liberal
		Ranj Pillai (b. 1974)	Yukon	Indian	14 January 2023	27 June 2025	2 years, 164 days	2023 Designation	Liberal

See also

• List of current Canadian first ministers
• List of female first ministers in Canada
• List of visible minority Canadian cabinet ministers
• List of visible minority politicians in Canada
• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States

Footnotes

1. Justin Trudeau, who served as Prime Minister from 2015 until 2025, has very distant Indonesian ancestry. However, this is a genealogical footnote more than a real cultural or ethnic connection, and Trudeau has not identified himself as a member of a visible minority, nor have other observers.

References

1. "Premiers Gallery: Ghiz, Joe". Biographical Directory of Prince Edward Island. Government of Prince Edward Island . Retrieved June 25, 2013.
2. "Premiers of British Columbia". Art & History Home. Government of BC, The British Columbian Government. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
3. "Robert Ghiz". Government of PEI. Prince Edward Island Government, Canadian Government. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.