By Asia Samachar | Canada |
A Canadian Sikh entrepreneur with political ambitions is trying his luck for the second time to vie for the Conservative Party’s leadership.
Bobby Singh, a Toronto-based immigrant’s son who is a businessman and a human rights activist, has joined a crowded field to vie for the Conservative Party’s leadership. At last count, at least nine leaders had expressed their interest.
Come Sept 10, the Canada’s main opposition party would have elected a new leader to position themselves to take on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should his minority government crumble.
After the federal snap elections in September 2021, Trudeau’s Liberal Party won 159 seats, 10 shot of a simple majority in the 338-seat House of Commons. He managed to run a minority government, with the conditional support of the New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Jagmeet Singh, which won 25 seats. With 119 seats, Conservative is the largest opposition in the federal parliament.
Bobby, a lifetime resident of Scarborough-Rouge Park, is among the dark horses in the race led by Pierre Poilievre and Jean Charest, trailed by Leslyn Lewis and Patrick Brown. Some speculate that Bobby had joined the crowded field to boost his standing within the party.
“I am neither a politician nor a rockstar,” Bobby said in a video shared on his campaign website.
Bobby’s political foray thus far has not yielded results. In 2019, he was fielded as a Conservative candidate in the general elections but did not make the cut. In 2020, he had announced his intention to enter the party leadership race but did not meet the qualifications.
Meeting the same qualifications would be Bobby’s immediate hurdle. Leadership candidates must post an initial C$50,000 deposit by April 19. Then they have until April 29 to provide the remaining $150,000 registration fee, a $100,000 security deposit and the signatures of 500 party members from at least 30 electoral districts and seven provinces.
Bobby described himself as a ‘successful entrepreneur and a business professional with nearly two decades of experience launching local and international start-up businesses. He said he had worked within retail, financial, consumer packaged goods, and government industries advising on finance and strategy.
He holds Honors B.A. and B.Sc. degrees in Finance-Economics and Psychology from the University of Toronto, M.B.A. degree specialized in International Business, Finance, and Strategy from the Schulich School of Business, and M.P.P.A.L. degree in Public Policy and Graduate Diploma in Justice Administration from the School of Public Policy, York University.
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