Toronto

A parliamentary constituency in Canada has fielded all Indian-origin candidates as the country went to the polls in the general elections today.

In Surrey-Newton, which has 31 per cent of Indian-origin population, incumbent New Democratic Party lawmaker Jinny Sims and Liberal Party of Canada candidate Sukh Dhaliwal squaring off against Green Party of Canada candidate Pamela Sangha and Harpreet Singh from the Conservative Party of Canada.

In 2011, Sims edged Dhaliwal by fewer than a thousand votes, and Dhaliwal only finished 73 votes ahead of the third place candidate, Conservative Mani Fallon.

In many other constituencies such as Brampton, Calgary and Edmonton, which have huge Indo-Canadian populations, Indian-origin candidates are contesting.

Indian-Canadians make up over three per cent of Canada’s population of about 35 million and have become a significant political force. PTI