{"id":269176,"date":"2021-02-19T11:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T16:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/diversity-and-inclusion-are-tools-for-a-political-partys-success\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:24:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:24:30","slug":"diversity-and-inclusion-are-tools-for-a-political-partys-success","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2021\/02\/diversity-and-inclusion-are-tools-for-a-political-partys-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Diversity and inclusion are tools for a political party\u2019s success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNever get involved in politics.\u201d That was the advice my uncle gave to me when I was in my teens. Subhash Sharma, a Hindu immigrant from Punjab, arrived in Canada in early 1969\u00a0and\u00a0became a\u00a0political organizer in the late \u201870s to the early \u201880s for the BC NDP party. My uncle\u2019s advice\u00a0on politics\u00a0was based on\u00a0his\u00a0experience helping organize the Indo-Canadian community for the BC NDP. As the\u00a0story goes,\u00a0he was treated unfairly because of his race, and was neither appreciated nor respected for his efforts.\u00a0My uncle died in 2005 in his mid-50s.<\/p>\n

Just before my uncle passed away, Martyn Brown, former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell’s chief of staff, appointed me to the Office of the Premier for British Columbia where\u00a0I worked as\u00a0the\u00a0manager of media monitoring in the West Annex of the B.C. legislature. Before that, I\u2019d served as a legislative assistant in the Official Opposition caucus to many MLAs\u00a0and\u00a0as an executive assistant to the minister of intermediate, long-term and home care.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of his life, my uncle was regularly ill,\u00a0so\u00a0most of his days were spent at home. Selfishly, I took that opportunity to visit him often, and chat about my roles in the legislature.\u00a0He\u2019d always welcome the conversation, congratulating\u00a0me with a polite smile.\u00a0But not once did my uncle suggest that I work towards becoming an elected official,\u00a0as\u00a0he wisely knew the hardship that can come with being a person of colour in politics. So, I suspect he wanted to spare me the grief he\u2019d endured.<\/p>\n

I always had an\u00a0innate desire to enter politics. I knew I wanted to help Canadians with their concerns about jobs, education and other issues. I also knew I could easily\u00a0navigate the legislative and ministerial processes to encourage policies that would\u00a0positively impact constituents in B.C.\u00a0That\u2019s why I disregarded\u00a0my uncle\u2019s advice\u00a0about politics, instead going on to organize\u00a0for both the\u00a0Liberal Party of Canada and the B.C. Liberal Party. Eventually, I\u00a0ran as a candidate for the B.C. Liberal Party in two provincial elections (2014 and 2020) and as an independent candidate in one municipal election (2018).<\/p>\n

Reflecting\u00a0back\u00a0on\u00a0my last\u00a020 years of political activity, I can recall many instances when I felt the same way as my uncle, discouraged in my efforts to effect change.\u00a0But I chose to ignore\u00a0the negativity, opting instead to keep my head down, stay quiet and work hard. I didn\u2019t discuss or even acknowledge the racism I encountered. I repeatedly told\u00a0myself\u00a0to\u00a0be grateful with what\u00a0I had\u00a0and\u00a0to avoid\u00a0complaining because\u00a0I didn\u2019t think anyone would\u00a0listen.<\/p>\n

But over the past 16 months,\u00a0I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work as the project manager for an equity, diversity and inclusion project in B.C.\u2019s construction industry, called the\u00a0Builders Code<\/a>. This\u00a0work\u00a0helped me understand I have the right to acknowledge that what I feel is racism, bullying, hate and discrimination \u2013 all of which are\u00a0alive and active in Canadian politics today.<\/p>\n

In October 2020, I was verbally accosted while running as a candidate in B.C.\u2019s provincial election. Rather than keeping quiet, I worked with my campaign team to proactively ensure that the constituents I was hoping to represent knew of the incident, including the racial slurs<\/a> thrown at me and their broader negative impact.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo: The author is interviewed by a local TV station during the B.C. provincial election in October 2020. Photo by Roop Jawl.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, the world has witnessed more overt discrimination. Stereotypes surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have led to acts of violence towards Chinese and other Asian communities around the world. Then there was the police killing of George Floyd this past summer in the U.S., which echoed hateful, discriminatory acts towards Black communities here in Canada. Just last year in Toronto, nooses were reportedly found on a construction site<\/a>. These terrible incidents have ignited a much-needed conversation about anti-racism.<\/p>\n

Canadian politicians often talk about and make claims of increased diversity in Canadian politics. But although we may be moving in the right direction, only 19 of the 87 members in the B.C. legislature are people of colour.\u00a0The District of Saanich, the municipality in which I ran as a candidate in 2018, didn\u2019t elect<\/a> any people of colour, even though 2017 census data<\/a> shows that 22.1 per cent of residents identified as a visible minority.<\/p>\n

In Montr\u00e9al, there is a movement led by organizations from the city\u2019s Black, East Asian, South Asian and Arab communities to increase the number of people of colour elected to city council. It\u2019s a laudable goal and they have the support of a local councillor, Marvin Rotrand, who introduced a motion<\/a> to amend Montreal\u2019s bylaws to ensure that one-third of candidates are people of colour and of Indigenous origin. This should be a model for other cities to consider, particularly those with large, racialized populations, to increase diversity on council.<\/p>\n

The BC NDP, the province\u2019s governing party, initiated a policy in 2011 that mandates when a riding is vacated by a male MLA, any nomination to replace that retiring MLA should only go to a woman, person of colour or someone from other underrepresented groups in Canadian politics. In the 2017 \u00a0provincial election , there was some controversy raised surrounding the policy<\/a>, but now, the BC NDP is recognized as having the first caucus in Canadian history with more women than men, as well as more people of colour serving than any B.C. caucus ever elected before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Local riding associations, which have volunteer leadership positions, should also make formal efforts to include team members from underrepresented groups. More inclusion at the local leadership level is in turn likely to drive more action for change within the party. This could take the form of local policy changes, and the introduction of resolutions at annual conventions that support engagement with diverse communities.<\/p>\n

Parties also elect a president and other executive members who are paid through fundraising efforts. Their job is to manage the central party\u2019s administrative apparatus. The party president and a lead executive member, the executive director, should also be held accountable by riding associations for ensuring that equity, diversity and inclusion is a priority.<\/p>\n

As noted, mandating policies on anti-racism can be difficult and controversial, but open dialogue will help drive much-needed change. Parties can host forums to increase awareness about the benefits of increasing diversity, equity and inclusion. But, to be successful, those facilitating these events must have the appropriate training to guide difficult conversations. I witnessed very uncomfortable conversations about racism and discrimination while co-hosting some of the Builders Code training sessions with B.C. construction sector employers and employees. After the sessions, participants had a better understanding of the value of increasing equity, diversity and inclusion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This can be achieved in Canadian politics, but it will take hard work and constant attention at all levels of government. Pressure can come from the lower levels of a political party, but to be effective, DEI must be a priority for party leaders because they carry the most influence in Canada\u2019s political system. Leaders ultimately approve candidates in all ridings, and their public comments to media and private comments to their leadership teams can be incredibly persuasive.<\/p>\n

One thing Canadian politicians should always remember when working to combat racism? Efforts should be invested in real change and not just towards paying lip service.<\/p>\n

This article is part of the <\/strong>Identifying the Barriers to Racial Equality in Canada <\/strong><\/a>special feature.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNever get involved in politics.\u201d That was the advice my uncle gave to me when I was in my teens. Subhash Sharma, a Hindu immigrant from Punjab, arrived in Canada in early 1969\u00a0and\u00a0became a\u00a0political organizer in the late \u201870s to the early \u201880s for the BC NDP party. My uncle\u2019s advice\u00a0on politics\u00a0was based on\u00a0his\u00a0experience helping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":243442,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T03:24:32Z","apple_news_api_id":"2cdcad79-f2d3-4b25-b4a5-0637c5d88c3e","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T03:24:32Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ALNytefLTSyW0pQY3xdiMPg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9358,9372],"tags":[9153,8478,9207,9096],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4250,4220,4277,4295],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[7107],"class_list":["post-269176","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politique","category-recent-stories-fr","tag-diversite","tag-canadian-elections-fr","tag-minorites-visibles","tag-racisme","irpp-category-democratie","irpp-category-discrimination","irpp-category-discrimination-fr","irpp-category-politique","irpp-tag-diversite"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nDiversity and inclusion are tools for a political party\u2019s success<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2021\/02\/diversity-and-inclusion-are-tools-for-a-political-partys-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diversity and inclusion are tools for a political party\u2019s success\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cNever get involved in politics.\u201d That was the advice my uncle gave to me when I was in my teens. 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