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.

Without Alfonso Gagliano in Quebec and Ron Irwin in Ontario, Jean Chrétien’s almost unprecedented majority three-peat would never have happened.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on December 21, 2020.

Two Liberal warhorses passed away within days of each other recently.

Both served as ministers in the government of Jean Chrétien and were best known for their love of the political side of politics.

Ron Irwin had politics in his blood. He loved the Liberal Party almost as much as his beloved hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, where he served as mayor and minister.

Alfonso Gagliano was more of a backroom operator, working as Quebec lieutenant to ensure the inner workings of the Liberal Party political apparatus were not sclerotic.

Many politicians have little understanding of or involvement in the critical role played by the party in an election.

But in every cabinet, there are political ministers whose job it is to build a robust party organization which can make or break an election.

In 1988, the government of Brian Mulroney won a majority because 20 winning Tory seats, primarily in the Toronto area, were decided in their favour by margins of less than 1.000 votes.

In this scenario, the party workers, not policies, can claim credit for victory. That means having boots on the ground and money in the coffers.

Irwin and Gagliano were responsible for many of those mechanics even while they served as ministers in the government, Gagliano working in Quebec and Ron mostly in Ontario.

Irwin was appointed by Chrétien to make sure that after every election, (three majority wins), the next party convention would give the boss a resounding vote of support. In the Liberal Party, the constitution called for a post-election leadership review vote, even when the party won a majority in the previous election.

As Quebec lieutenant, Gagliano was responsible for making sure that party operations were well-oiled and well-funded. That meant heading up the tough job of political fundraising.

Both were politicians who loved the people, and the party side of politics. To campaign with Gagliano in Saint Leonard, Que., or Irwin in the “Soo” was to witness political people beloved by their constituents.

Without either of them, Jean Chrétien’s almost unprecedented majority three-peat would never have happened.

Supporters of Paul Martin were waiting in the wings during three successive elections, readying for a takeover.

To guarantee that outcome, they sought to control party machinations.

That is the back story to the findings of the Gomery Commission. Commission conclusions were subsequently discredited by a federal court judge in 2008 and that decision was upheld on appeal. The judge said neither Jean Chrétien nor Jean Pelletier was to blame for the mismanagement of the program designed to heighten federal presence in Quebec.

When Gagliano passed away last week, most of the headlines were devoted to his alleged role in the scandal that ultimately cost Paul Martin the government.

Liberal Party coffers in Quebec dried up because of the bitter internal war between Martin and Chrétien and it was Gagliano’s unlucky responsibility to head up fundraising.

Martin’s people, strategically placed in important positions across the country, put the word out that no supporter should be contributing a penny to the party until he took it over.

After Chrétien beat Martin in the leadership race of 1990, Martin retained a group of key political organizers, whose job it was to secure control of the party in every province.

Each organizer had a budget to entertain prospects and keep a close watch on federal and provincial party activities, making sure they elected “friendlies” in all available positions.

Their message was simple: to be friends of the next prime minister, do not support or donate to this one.

“Friendlies” were working to secure a change of leadership so Martin might finally achieve his goal of becoming prime minister.

In some provinces, ministers who were working for Martin insisted that government appointments should never go to Chrétien supporters.

As Chrétien’s political life was coming to an end, even former supporters were trying to make common cause with Martin to position themselves in a future government. That is the way of politics.

But neither Gagliano nor Irwin would join in that game. They were loyal to their leader and worked their hearts out in a climate where the biggest political challenge was the civil war roiling in the party.

Irwin managed to avoid fallout from that war but Gagliano was not so lucky.

Thankfully, in post-political life, this Italian immigrant found the peace that eluded him and became a prized vintner of wine that bears his name.

May two loyal warriors rest in peace.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.