Bhutila Karpoche

Bhutila Karpoche MPP (born 1983 or 1984)[1] is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.[1] She represents the riding of Parkdale—High Park. She is the official opposition mental health and addictions critic.

Bhutila Karpoche

MPP
Critic, Mental Health and Addictions
Assumed office
August 23, 2018
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Deputy Opposition Whip
In office
August 23, 2018 – August 30, 2019
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Succeeded byDoly Begum
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Parkdale—High Park
Assumed office
June 7, 2018
Preceded byCheri DiNovo
Personal details
Born1983/1984 (age 36–37)[1]
Nepal
Political partyNew Democratic
ResidenceToronto
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia, University of Toronto

She is the first person of Tibetan descent ever elected to public office in North America.[1]

Background

Karpoche was born in Nepal and moved to the Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale as a child with her family.

Prior to her election, Karpoche worked for Cheri DiNovo, her predecessor as member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Parkdale-High Park, first in DiNovo's constituency office and more recently as her executive assistant at Queens Park.[2] She also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario, and on the steering committee of the International Tibet Network.[3]

She holds a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and is currently a PhD candidate in Public Health Policy at Ryerson University.[4]

Career

On September 14, 2017, the Parkdale—High Park New Democratic Party (NDP) riding association nominated Karpoche as the party's candidate in the upcoming general election[5]. She won the election on June 7, 2018 with 59.41% support from voters.

Upon being sworn in as an MPP, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath appointed Karpoche as deputy opposition whip and mental health and addictions critic. In a shadow cabinet shuffle on August 30, 2019, the deputy opposition whip was passed to Doly Begum.

In 2019, she was voted Toronto's Best Local Politician by Toronto Star readers[6] and Best MPP by Now Magazine readers[7].

Electoral record
2018 Ontario general election: Parkdale—High Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticBhutila Karpoche32,40759.41+13.21
Progressive ConservativeAdam Pham9,82118.00+6.26
LiberalNadia Guerrera9,27117.00-20.42
GreenHalyna Zalucky2,5444.66+1.33
LibertarianMatthias Nunno3710.68+0.25
CommunistJay Watts1350.25
Turnout 54,54965.02+8.12
Eligible voters 83,879
New Democratic hold Swing +3.42
Source: Elections Ontario[8]

References
  1. Kennedy, Brendan (June 7, 2018). "NDP's Bhutila Karpoche wins Parkdale-High Park, becoming first Tibetan ever elected to public office in North America". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  2. "NDP politician Cheri DiNovo may be leaving politics, but her work on LGBT issues isn’t over". Daily Xtra, September 20, 2017.
  3. "First Tibetan, Bhutila Karpoche Wins Election in Canada". Tibetan Journal, June 8, 2018.
  4. "About Bhutila". Bhutila Karpoche. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  5. "Canada Tibet Committee | Library | WTN". www.tibet.ca. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  6. "Readers' Choice". www.thestar.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  7. "Readers' Choice". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  8. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 9. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.