Bhutila Karpoche

Bhutila Tenzin Karpoche[2] MPP (/buːˈtɪlə ˌkɑːrpəˈtʃeɪ/ boo-TILL-ə KAR-pə-CHAY;[3] Tibetan: བུ་ཁྲིད་ལ་དཀར་པོ་ཆེས།, born 1983 or 1984) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Parkdale—High Park since June 7, 2018. A member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP), she is the party's early childhood development critic, child care critic, and GTA issues critic. Born in Nepal, Karpoche is the first person of Tibetan descent ever elected to public office in North America.

Bhutila Karpoche
MPP
Karpoche in 2022
Official Opposition Critic for
GTA Issues
Assumed office
July 13, 2022
LeaderPeter Tabuns
Official Opposition Critic for
Early Childhood Development and Child Care
Assumed office
February 2, 2021
LeaderPeter Tabuns
Andrea Horwath
Deputy Opposition Whip
In office
August 23, 2018 – August 30, 2019
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Succeeded byDoly Begum
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Parkdale—High Park
Assumed office
June 7, 2018
Preceded byCheri DiNovo
Personal details
Born1983 or 1984 (age 39–40)[1]
Kathmandu, Nepal
Political partyOntario New Democratic
ResidenceToronto
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
University of Toronto
Occupation
  • Politician
  • epidemiologist
Websitewww.bhutilakarpoche.ca

Early life and education

Karpoche was born in Nepal and moved to the Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale when she was 18 with her family.[1][4]

She holds a master's of public health in epidemiology from the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and is currently a PhD candidate in public health policy at Toronto Metropolitan University.[5]

Political career

Prior to her election, Karpoche worked for Cheri DiNovo, her predecessor as MPP for Parkdale—High Park, first in DiNovo's constituency office and more recently as her executive assistant at Queen's Park.[6] She also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario, and on the steering committee of the International Tibet Network.[7]

Member of Provincial Parliament

On September 14, 2017, the Parkdale—High Park NDP riding association nominated Karpoche as the party's candidate in the 2018 general election.[8] She won the election on June 7, 2018, and her party won the second most seats, becoming the Official Opposition.

Following her election, NDP leader Andrea Horwath appointed Karpoche as deputy opposition whip and mental health and addictions critic. In a shadow cabinet shuffle on August 30, 2019, the deputy opposition whip was passed to Doly Begum.

In 2019, she was voted Toronto's Best Local Politician by Toronto Star readers.[9] She was voted Best MPP by Now Magazine readers in 2019, 2020 and 2021.[10][11][12]

Karpoche was re-elected in the 2022 election with 53.97% of the popular vote.[13]

Following the selection of Interim Leader Peter Tabuns, Karpoche retained her critic portfolio of early childhood development and children, and was assigned the additional portfolio of GTA issues.[14] On July 15, 2022, it was announced that the Ontario NDP would be nominating Karpoche as a Deputy Speaker in the 43rd parliament.[15]

Electoral record
2022 Ontario general election: Parkdale—High Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticBhutila Karpoche23,02453.97-5.44
LiberalKarim Bardeesy9,54722.38+5.38
Progressive ConservativeMonika Frejlich6,27014.70-3.30
GreenPatrick Macklem2,5876.06+1.40
New BlueDanielle Height5371.26
Ontario PartyCraig Pesklett3490.82
CommunistGunes Agduk2210.52+0.27
People's Political PartyOliver Roberts1290.30
Total valid votes 42,66499.47
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 2280.53
Turnout 42,89249.26-15.76
Eligible voters 87,074
New Democratic hold Swing -5.41
Source: Elections Ontario[16]
2018 Ontario general election: Parkdale—High Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticBhutila Karpoche32,40759.41+13.21
Progressive ConservativeAdam Pham9,82118.00+6.26
LiberalNadia Guerrera9,27117.00-20.42
GreenHalyna Zalucky2,5444.66+1.33
LibertarianMatthias Nunno3710.68+0.25
CommunistJay Watts1350.25
Turnout 54,54965.02+8.12
Eligible voters 83,879
New Democratic hold Swing +3.42
Source: Elections Ontario[17]

References
  1. Kennedy, Brendan (June 7, 2018). "NDP's Bhutila Karpoche wins Parkdale-High Park, becoming first Tibetan ever elected to public office in North America". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  2. @ONPARLeducation (13 July 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "Live Conversation on Mutual Aid". Facebook. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. Paling, Emma (December 27, 2018). "Bhutila Karpoche, Ontario's 1st Tibetan MPP, Wants Ontario To Be A Place Where Immigrants Thrive". Huffington Post Canada. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  5. "About Bhutila". Bhutila Karpoche. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  6. "NDP politician Cheri DiNovo may be leaving politics, but her work on LGBT issues isn't over". Daily Xtra. September 20, 2017.
  7. "First Tibetan, Bhutila Karpoche Wins Election in Canada". Tibetan Journal. June 8, 2018.
  8. "Canada Tibet Committee | Library | WTN". www.tibet.ca. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  9. "Readers' Choice". www.thestar.com. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  10. "Readers' Choice". NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  11. "Readers' Choice 2021: Toronto's best activists, politicians and public spaces". NOW Magazine. 2021-11-11. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  12. "Photos". embed-720475.secondstreetapp.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  13. Ontario, Elections (2022-06-07). "Election Results". www.elections.on.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  14. "Interim Official Opposition Leader Peter Tabuns names NDP deputy leaders, critics". Ontario NDP. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  15. "NDP puts forward history-making appointments for deputy speakers". Ontario NDP. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  16. "Vote Totals From Official Tabulation - Parkdale—High Park 083" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  17. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 9. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
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