List of visible minority political party leaders in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list comprises persons who belong to a visible minority group who have served as leaders of either federal, provincial, and territorial political parties in Canada. Note that the term "visible minority" refers to Canadians who identify as neither white nor Indigenous.[a][7]
List
| Image | Leader | Jurisdiction | Ancestry | Took office | Left office | Duration | Party | Highest position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Lee (b. 1947) |
British Columbia | Chinese | 1984 | 1987 | 3 years | Liberal | |||
| Joe Ghiz (1945–1996)[8] |
Prince Edward Island | Lebanese | 24 October 1981 | 23 January 1993 | 11 years, 91 days | Liberal | Premier (1986–1993) | ||
 |
Raj Pannu (1934–2025) |
Alberta | Indian | 8 February 2000 | 13 July 2004 | 4 years, 156 days | New Democratic | ||
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Ujjal Dosanjh (b. 1947)[9] |
British Columbia | Indian | 24 February 2000 | 16 May 2001 | 1 year, 81 days | New Democratic | Premier (2000–2001) | |
 |
Robert Ghiz (b. 1974)[10] |
Prince Edward Island | Lebanese | 5 April 2003 | 21 February 2015 | 11 years, 322 days | Liberal | Premier (2007–2015) | |
 |
Amir Khadir (co-spokesperson, b. 1961) |
Quebec | Iranian | 4 February 2006 | 4 November 2012 | 6 years, 274 days | Québec solidaire | ||
 |
Lorraine Michael (b. 1943) |
Newfoundland and Labrador | Lebanese | 28 May 2006 | 7 March 2015 | 8 years, 283 days | New Democratic | ||
| Vivian Barbot (interim, b. 1941) |
Canada (Federal government) |
Haitian | 3 May 2011 | 11 December 2011 | 222 days | Bloc Québécois | |||
 |
Raj Sherman (b. 1966) |
Alberta | Indian | 10 September 2011 | 26 January 2015 | 3 years, 138 days | Liberal | Leader of the Opposition (2011–2012) | |
| Andrés Fontecilla (co-spokesperson, b. 1967) |
Quebec | Chilean | 5 May 2013 | 21 May 2017 | 4 years, 16 days | Québec solidaire | |||
 |
Rana Bokhari (b. 1977) |
Manitoba | Pakistani | 26 October 2013 | 24 September 2016 | 2 years, 334 days | Liberal | ||
 |
Flor Marcelino (interim, b. 1951/1952) |
Manitoba | Filipino | 30 April 2016 | 16 September 2017 | 1 year, 139 days | New Democratic | Leader of the Opposition (2016–2017) | |
_(cropped).jpg) |
Jagmeet Singh (b. 1979) |
Canada (Federal government) |
Indian | 1 October 2017 | 5 May 2025 | 7 years, 216 days | New Democratic | ||
| Dominique Anglade (b. 1974) |
Quebec | Haitian | 11 May 2020 | 10 November 2022 | 2 years, 183 days | Liberal | Leader of the Opposition (2020–2022) | ||
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Annamie Paul (b. 1972) |
Canada (Federal government) |
Caribbean | 3 October 2020 | 14 November 2021 | 1 year, 42 days | Green | ||
 |
Amita Kuttner (interim, b. 1990) |
Canada (Federal government) |
Hong Kong | 24 November 2021 | 19 November 2022 | 360 days | Green | ||
 |
Zach Churchill[11] | Nova Scotia | Lebanese | 9 July 2022 | 27 October 2024 | 2 years, 110 days | Liberal | Leader of the Opposition (2022–2024) | |
 |
Ranj Pillai (b. 1974) |
Yukon | Indian | 14 January 2023 | 27 June 2025 | 2 years, 164 days | Liberal | Premier (2023–2025) | |
 |
Naheed Nenshi (b. 1972) |
Alberta | Indian | 22 June 2024 | 2 years, 94 days | New Democratic | Leader of the Opposition (2025–present) | ||
| Ruba Ghazal (co-spokesperson, b. 1977) |
Quebec | Palestinian[12] | 16 November 2024 | 1 year, 312 days | Québec solidaire | ||||
 |
Jonathan Pedneault (co-leader, b. 1990) |
Canada (Federal government) |
Cuban | 4 February 2025 | 30 April 2025 | 85 days | Green | ||
 |
Obby Khan (b. 1980) |
Manitoba | Pakistani | 26 April 2025 | 1 year, 151 days | Progressive Conservative | Leader of the Opposition (2025–present) | ||
| Pablo Rodriguez (b. 1967) |
Quebec | Argentine[13] | 14 June 2025 | 17 December 2025 | 186 days | Liberal |
See also
- List of current Canadian first ministers
- List of female first ministers in Canada
- List of visible minority Canadian cabinet ministers
- List of visible minority politicians in Canada
- List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States
- List of Indigenous Canadian politicians
- List of Jewish Canadian politicians
- List of female political party leaders in Canada
Footnotes
- Justin Trudeau, who served as Leader of the federal Liberal Party from 2013 until 2025, has very distant Indonesian ancestry. However, this is a genealogical footnote more than a real cultural or ethnic connection, and Trudeau has not identified himself as a member of a visible minority, nor have other observers.[1][2][3][4][5][6]