There is a record number of 53 MPs from minority backgrounds in the Commons, representing 15.7 per cent of the total number of seats. That percentage is still below the 26.3 percentage of visible minorities in the general population. But the increase in the last election was outstanding.
By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on May 11, 2026.
OTTAWA —May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. And in a speech last Tuesday to a diverse audience at the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller revealed a surprising number.
He celebrated the reality that one in five Canadians is of Asian background. The country is aware of a large Asian presence in the metropolitan areas of Toronto and Vancouver.
But our diversity has spread across the country.
What was exciting at the gallery celebration was the presence of more than two dozen MPs and Senators who hail from Asian background.
They join dozens of other MPs who are defined as visible minorities.
In the current Parliament, there is a record number of 53 MPs from minority backgrounds, representing 15.7 per cent of the total number of seats.
That percentage is still below the 26.3 percentage of visible minorities in the general population.
But the increase in the last election was outstanding.
Almost 10 per cent of the House of Commons is comprised of South Asian members who occupy 31 seats.
The number of visible minorities has increased in every one of the last four elections, so equivalency should be happening soon.
Compare that figure to the number of Asian Americans serving in their Congress. At this time, only 24 Congresspeople self-identify as Asian, representing 4.4 per cent of the House of Representatives. The Asian presence in the United States figures in at only 6.7 per cent.
The first Canadian breakthrough in diverse parliamentarian elections occurred in 1993 when 13 minority MPs were elected.
According to a paper published by retired McGill professor Jerome H. Black, “this was the first time that more than a handful of such individuals had found their way into Parliament and thus, constitutes significant early development in the racial diversification of the legislature.”
That breakthrough did not happen by accident. The Liberal Party won a majority government that year, and part of its pre-election strategy for recruiting candidates was to establish a 25-per-cent minimum nomination of women and minorities.
That strategy continued while the Liberals in government.
The establishment of Asian Heritage Month was carried out by an official declaration of the government. At the time, then-Senator Vivienne Poy and I worked together on the subject. She introduced a private member’s bill into the Senate in the fall of 2001, and I issued an official government declaration the following February, setting the stage for the first celebration of May 2002.
We used the same strategy to introduce Black History Month in 1995. Parliament’s first Black woman, Jean Augustine, introduced the resolution in the House that was subsequently adopted as official government policy under the leadership of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The decision to adopt an inclusive nomination process was also reflected in other government policies.
In 1999, as minister, I issued a directive to the CRTC demanding a rewrite of television and radio licensing renewal guidelines to require applicants to hire women, minorities, and Indigenous Peoples.
Funding guidelines were also modified for all 15 Crown corporations under the authority of the minister of Canadian Heritage. This group included the CBC and Parks Canada.
The directive ensured that every organization develop a plan to increase the hiring of women and minorities. In the case of Parks Canada, their action plan resulted in an immediate 17-per-cent hike in the hiring of Indigenous employees.
The government also announced the first-ever National Aboriginal Day under the leadership of Ron Irwin, then-minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. We also established National Multicultural Day.
Both days of recognition were included in the celebrations of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day and Canada Day.
The first Asian Heritage month celebration involved coffee and cookies in one of the parliamentary reception rooms with a few dozen representatives.
Last week, it was standing-room only, and the theatre at the National Gallery was filled with hundreds of participants.
Most important were the numbers of parliamentarians who joined the minister in the presentations. The face of the country is changing, and the face of government is—thankfully—changing along with it.
From Liberal MPs Chi Nguyen to Jean Yip, from Rechie Valdez, to Fares Al Soud, the presenters were dynamic, bright and bilingual. Each had their own story, sharing their family struggles of immigrating to a new country.
Each also has experienced unique struggles in securing nominations or electoral success.
They are the new faces of Canada.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.