The new Liberal Party candidate and a probable future contender to replace Justin Trudeau as the next Prime Minister of Canada has made a bold promise on Tuesday by promising to deport illegal immigrants if she wins the leadership race. In a series of posts on social media platform X, the Indian-origin former Member of Parliament (MP) committed to a tough stance on immigration, pledging to address what she describes as a growing issue in Canada.
“As Prime Minister, I will deport illegal immigrants and clamp down on human traffickers. That’s my promise to you,” she wrote in one post, clearly emphasizing her intention to take decisive action on immigration matters.
Another post was a video on X in which Dhalla said, “Thank you so much, thank you to God, I am so grateful to all of you. We are on the verge of creating history by electing the first woman of color as the leader of the Liberal Party and the next prime minister of Canada,” Dhalla said in the video.
Speaking on the next step in her leadership campaign, Dhalla aims to become the first Indian-origin woman MP elected for a third consecutive term. “Phase 1 is over, we go on to phase 2 and engage with liberals all across the country, who have signed up as members of our party,” she added. “I am very excited to be officially accepted as a candidate by the Liberal Party. My candidacy will engage an entirely new demographic of people into our party and the Canadian political system.”
Political Career of Ruby Dhalla
Dhalla entered the leadership race of the Liberal Party at the last minute when the candidate list closed on January 23. She was elected to the House of Commons first in 2004 from Brampton-Springdale. Dhalla won re-election in both 2006 and 2008 but lost the seat in 2011. She didn’t contest again in 2015, though the Liberals swept to a majority.
Dhalla’s historic 2004 victory made her one of the first women of Indian origin to serve as a member of the House of Commons, along with Conservative Nina Grewal. Furthermore, outside of her political career, Dhalla has worked as a model and currently runs a hotel business. She has also emphasized the value of her business experience, which she believes will help bring Canada’s global stature back.