Six Filipinos are vying for seats in Canada’s parliament making it the largest number from the community to join the federal race.
Two lawyers, a scientist, two business people and a union worker are those who are entering the federal race while others are also preparing for municipal elections in October.
Phil De Luna (Greens for Toronto-St. Paul’s), Julius Tiangson (Conservative for York Centre) and Virginia Austria Bremner (Liberal for Vancouver Kingsway) have already been nominated. Paul Jonathan Saguil (Liberal, Brampton Centre), Elizabeth Quinto (Liberal, Kitchener South-Hespeler) and Naden Abenes (NDP, Vancouver Centre) were vying for nominations to represent their parties.
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No Filipino Canadian has been elected to parliament since the first parliamentarian, Liberal Dr. Rey Pagtakhan of Winnipeg, Manitoba ended his term (1988 -2004),
Filipino Canadian senator, Tobias C. Enverga, Jr. was appointed (not elected) by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in September 2012 for the province of Ontario and would have been in office till 75 but for his sudden death in November 2017.
The interest in the political process among Filipino Canadians has particularly increased after the formation of a grassroots group Filipino Canadian Political Association advocates. The group has advocated that Filipinos have lacked federal representation.
Grant Gonzales, co-founder of the newly formed group, said that the representation of the Canadians of all groups can be achieved after breaking down “barriers for more marginalized communities that lack that representation.”
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In the 2019 federal election the group analyzed 37 electoral districts and on the basis of 2016 census data it found that Filipinos could have made a difference in victory or defeat by a slight margin.
Earlier Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during Philippine Heritage Month in June that “we need strong Filipino Canadians particularly to step up across the country and run for public office, and run for the Liberal Party, it’s something that I am very, very hopeful of.”
Trudeau said that “leaving decision-making and other problem-solving to a group whose members have similar profiles would likely result in solutions that would be too predictable.” (AW)
