Ruby Dhalla
Dr. Ruby Dhalla (born February 18, 1974 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. She is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the Ontario riding of Brampton—Springdale for the Liberal Party.
Dhalla's parents are Sikh immigrants from the Indian state of Punjab. Along with British Columbia Conservative Nina Grewal, Dhalla is the first Sikh woman to serve in the Canadian House of Commons.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Winnipeg. After graduating, she briefly worked as a Bollywood actress in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). She moved to Toronto in 1995, and graduating as a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine in 1999. She now co-owns a chain of chiropractic clinics in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga and Aurora with her brother, Neil Dhalla. She finished second in the Miss India Canada pageant to Melissa Bhagat in 2003.
Dhalla joined the Liberal Party in 1986, and did extensive work for the party over the next eighteen years. She volunteered for local Winnipeg candidate David Walker in the 1988 federal election, and was subsequently involved in the Young Liberals organization. In 2003, she supported Paul Martin's bid to become party leader. In 2004, Dhalla was appointed by Martin as the party's candidate in Brampton—Springdale. Some members of the local Liberal association opposed her appointment, instead wishing to nominate local lawyer Andrew Kania, and campaigned for the local New Democratic Party candidate in the election that followed. (Coincidentally, Melissa Bhagat had been among those campaigning for the Liberal nomination prior to Dhalla's appointment.)
Despite this controversy, Dhalla was easily elected over Conservative Sam Hundal and New Democrat Kathy Pounder in the 2004 election. She is currently a member of the Standing Committee on Health.
Dhalla played a significant role in organizing the Canada for Asia benefit concert of January 2005, raising money for victims of the previous month's tsunami disaster in southeast Asia.
She is publicly undecided on the issue of same-sex marriage, but has stated she does not wish to impose her personal religious beliefs on the general population.