Ujjal Dosanjh

Ujjal Dosanjh

Ujjal Dev Singh Dosanjh PC QC, (/ˈuːdʒəl doʊˈsɑːndʒ/; born September 9, 1947) is a Sikh Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as 33rd Premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 including a stint as Minister of Health from 2004 until 2006 when the party lost government. As a member of the Official Opposition from January 2006 until 2011, Dosanjh variously has been the critic of National Defence, Public Safety, and Foreign Affairs, as well as sitting on Standing Committee on National Defence, the Committee on Public Safety and National Security, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and the Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, and the Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Prior to being involved in federal politics, he spent ten years in provincial politics. He was elected in the Vancouver-Kensington riding in 1991 as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) and re-elected there in 1996. He served as the Attorney General of British Columbia from August 1995 to February 2000. When the leader of his party resigned in 1999, Dosanjh put himself forward as a candidate and won the leadership vote. With the win he became Canada's first Indo-Canadian provincial leader. He served as the 33rd Premier of British Columbia until June 2001 when he lost the province's general election.

Born in a village in the Jalandhar district of Punjab, India, Dosanjh emigrated to the United Kingdom at the age of 17 before moving to Canada almost four years later. He worked numerous manual labour jobs and attended university, studying political science. He earned his law degree at the University of British Columbia and opened his own law firm. He has been a vocal opponent of violence and extremism.