Trudeau resignation creates more turmoil for Brampton

Financially, socially, politically, it has been a tumultuous few years in the City of Brampton. Clashes between the city’s large Sikh and Hindu communities shocked residents late last year; Mayor Patrick Brown has admitted to succumbing to foreign interference; while failing to advance critical projects neglected under his distracted leadership.

Brampton’s slate of Liberal MPs has proven largely ineffectual in securing federal dollars for badly needed city building: downtown continues to wither under Brown’s failed leadership (he cancelled a major redevelopment of the area to keep the City budget flat); key transit projects like the LRT extension are at a standstill with no local funding in sight; the Riverwalk plan, which received federal funding that could be lost due to Brown’s unwillingness to provide a local share for the project, faces an uncertain future; and other badly needed pieces of infrastructure in the hyper-growth city like a standalone university promised by the mayor are nowhere to be seen.  

The resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau creates more uncertainty for a municipality that historically has not received adequate support from its federal counterparts, and has not seen coordination between its MPs and local officials to secure badly needed infrastructure funding, with applications not done in a timely fashion or missed altogether. 

A desperately needed transit maintenance facility was repeatedly delayed and mishandled under Brown who pushed it off when he demanded the City budget be kept flat and claimed the delay was so the building could be built to accommodate electric buses, causing the transit service to suffer. Funding was finally approved for the project in October—almost a decade after the project was supposed to be initiated—through the federal government’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure (ICIP) Plan, but the $128.1 million (half from the federal government) does not cover the electrification. Brown has failed to invest in the greening of the bus fleet which still uses dirty diesel vehicles, unlike other large cities across the country. 

Despite Brampton being represented by 5 Liberal MPs, it has not received the level of per-capita funding that would see hundreds of millions more coming back to the city, commensurate with the federal income tax dollars its residents contribute. 

From 2015 to 2019, under the Liberals, the city only received $40.3 million for a variety of small projects. Its share of available federal infrastructure funding should have been more than $1.3 billion, based on Brampton’s population and the amount of money local residents sent to Ottawa through their federal income tax.

In 2019, some of the city’s Liberal MPs laid the blame at the feet of City Hall. “Oftentimes [proposals for federal funding] had become so bureaucratic that members of parliament weren’t even informed some times as to what proposals were being submitted,” Brampton North Liberal MP Ruby Sahota said during the 2019 election campaign, blaming inertia at the municipal level for the delays. 

“We have encouraged our councillors to speak to us about proposals which are being submitted because we want to be their champions on Parliament Hill,” she said. “We want to have the ear of ministers and say that their department has received something.” 

After the Liberals won re-election as a minority government, Brampton’s fortunes changed, slightly. 

Federal funds flowing to City Hall under the Investing in Canada Plan increased between the 42nd and 43rd parliaments. Despite sitting for half as long as the previous term of government, the Liberal minority from 2019 to 2021 pledged $166.5 million directly to the City of Brampton for 15 separate projects, according to data from the government’s website at the time. But it was still a fraction of what the city should have received based on population and equitable funding allocations for all taxpayers. 

With Trudeau’s resignation announced this morning, and support for the Liberals at an all-time low across Canada—the most recent Angus Reid poll shows the Party would only get 16 percent of the vote among those who are leaning toward or have decided on a choice, the lowest level since 2014—Brampton could see a repeat of 2015, when all its federal seats went from the Conservatives to the Liberals, but this time it could be the other way around, according to polls.

The late December survey also showed nearly 60 percent of leaning and decided Liberal voters wanted Trudeau to resign. 

“We are at a critical moment in the world,” Trudeau said Monday morning. “This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”

Parliament has been suspended until the end of March with a likely election two or three months later.

Bramptonians will likely have to wait longer for any word on funding for the LRT extension into downtown—the City says it needs $2.8 billion to fund its preferred tunnel option, after Brown claimed five years ago that he had commitments from higher levels of government to fund the project. No money has been allocated and he has failed to include any funding for it through the City’s budget.

The Riverwalk flood mitigation project is also up in the air. 

In November 2020, the federal Liberals committed $38.8 million toward the project. The City of Brampton’s 2024 budget finally listed $87.4 million for the Riverwalk, including $28.4 million from the federal subsidy and $58.8 million from reserves. But with work barely moving forward four years after Ottawa’s commitment, it remains unclear if the federal funding will still be available if certain milestones are not met or if the City fails to provide its share.

Below is a look at Brampton’s five current ridings (it will have six for the coming election) and what the future may hold for the city’s federal representatives. 

(The Pointer Files)

Brampton West, Liberal Kamal Khera

Khera was a questionable candidate in 2015, having no political experience at any level of government and only securing the nomination because of a family member who was part of the riding association at the time. She had recently graduated from nursing school and quickly got herself into hot water as a Parliamentarian, when she accepted a seven-day trip to Tanzania from an organization, which was prohibited. Her inexperience was again the source of embarrassment when she travelled to the U.S. during the pandemic when she was not supposed to. She also misrepresented comments from a competitor during a re-election campaign and was criticized for using unethical tactics.

Despite speaking seldomly during Parliamentary proceedings she was recently given a small portfolio, as Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. Khera has not indicated publicly if she will seek re-election. 

(The Pointer Files)

Brampton North, Liberal Ruby Sahota

Sahota has been the most active MP in Brampton, frequently advocating for funding and various key issues in the city. The lawyer had a key role in the Party, as its chief government whip. She has sat on a number of key committees and is also Minister of Democratic Institutions and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. 

Sahota has not indicated if she will run in the upcoming election. 

She also served on the influential Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, focusing on immigration reform and gender equality. Sahota also championed improvements in public transit infrastructure, enhanced access to post-secondary education and the establishment of $10 per day childcare.

(The Pointer Files)

Brampton North, Liberal Sonia Sidhu

Sidhu has not been an active participant in many issues debated in Parliament since her election in 2015. With her focus on healthcare, she has done some work for the community around diabetes awareness and currently sits on the standing committee on the status of women as its vice-chair, along with her membership on the health committee. 

She has not stated publicly if she will seek re-election. 

(The Pointer Files)

Brampton East, Liberal Maninder Sidhu

Another candidate who had no experience in politics— and made questionable claims about his work with charities—Sidhu has been largely silent as an MP since he was handed a nomination in 2019. He has served as the parliamentary secretary to both the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Development. He is a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights within the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. 

He has not indicated if he will run again.

(ParlVu)

Brampton Centre, Liberal Shafqat Ali

He is the shortest serving Brampton Liberal MP, after winning his seat in 2021. Ali is best known for his inappropriate use of House of Commons facilities, when  in 2022 he used a bathroom stall while participating in a Parliamentary debate on video.

He has not publicly stated if he will seek re-election.

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