Gary Anandasangaree
Gary Anandasangaree MP |
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கரி ஆனந்தசங்கரி | |
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Scarborough—Rouge Park |
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Assumed office October 19, 2015 |
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Preceded by | Riding Established |
Personal details | |
Political party | Liberal |
Alma mater | |
Profession | Lawyer |
Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Sathiyasangaree Anandasangaree (Tamil: சத்தியசங்கரி ஆனந்தசங்கரி; known as Gary Anandasangaree) is a Tamil Canadian lawyer, human rights activist and politician. He was elected to represent the riding of Scarborough—Rouge Park in the House of Commons in the 2015 federal election.[1]
Early life and family[edit]
Anandasangaree is the son of V. Anandasangaree, a leading Sri Lankan Tamil politician.[2][3] His parents separated in 1980 and he and his mother moved to Ireland.[4] They had planned to return to Sri Lanka in July 1983 when the Black July anti-Tamil riots broke out.[4] Changing plans, Anandasangaree and his mother travelled to Canada on August 31, 1983.[4][5] Anandasangaree is estranged from his father and has only met him twice since 1983.[4][5]
After school Anandasangaree joined Carleton University, graduating in 1996 with a B.A. honours degree in political science.[5][6][7] He is married to Harini Sivalingam.[7] They have two daughters, Bairavi and Sahanah.[7]
Career[edit]
Anandasangaree worked in real estate as a Registered Real Estate Broker between 1996 and 2006.[8]
Anandasangaree studied at the Osgoode Hall Law School, the law faculty of York University.[9] He graduated in 2005 with a LL.B. degree and was called to the bar in 2006.[9][10] Anandasangaree is the principal lawyer at Gary Anandasangaree and Associates, a Toronto law firm specialising in business, real estate and international human rights law.[11] He is a member of The Law Society of Upper Canada, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association and South Asian Bar Association.[8]
Anandasangaree became active in politics after joinin the Liberal Party.[12] In October 2013 Anandasangaree announced that he would be seeking the Liberal Party nomination for the Scarborough—Rouge Park for the 2015 federal election.[7] He won the nomination election held in August 2014.[13][14] He won the election held on October 19, 2015, securing 29,906 votes (60.1%).[15][16]
Anandasangaree has served on various community groups: Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce (president); Canadian Tamil Congress (counsel); Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (chairman); Newcomer Grants for the United Way of Greater Toronto (member); Toronto Board of Trade (member); Toronto City Summit’s Emerging Leaders Network (member); and Youth Challenge Fund (board member).[6][8] He has also lectured at the Centennial College Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.[8] He has received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.[6] He has also been awarded the TREB Award and Henry Marshall Tory Award for Service.[6][8]
Anandasangaree has been a vocal campaigner against human rights abuses during the Sri Lankan Civil War and has attended several sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council.[12][17] This has led to Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists labelling Anandasangaree as a member of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).[18][19][20] However, LTTE supporters openly backed Anandasangaree's conservative opponent during the 2015 federal election campaign.[12]
Electoral record[edit]
Canadian federal election, 2015: Scarborough—Rouge Park | ||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | Expenditures | |||
Liberal | Gary Anandasangaree | 29,913 | 60.2 | |||||
Conservative | Leslyn Lewis | 13,587 | 27.4 | |||||
New Democratic | K. M. Shanthikumar | 5,145 | 10.4 | |||||
Green | Calvin Winter | 1,010 | 2.0 | |||||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 49,655 | 100.0 | $204,974.26 | |||||
Total rejected ballots | 235 | 0.5 | ||||||
Turnout | 49,890 | |||||||
Eligible voters | 71,950 | 69.3 | ||||||
Sources:[21][22] |
References[edit]
- ^ Tang, Veronica (October 20, 2015). "Gary Anandasangaree wins Scarborough-Rouge Park for Liberals in landslide victory". Global News.
- ^ "Sangaree’s son elected to Canadian parliament". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Global News. October 20, 2015.
- ^ Ferdinando, Shamindra (January 3, 2014). "Canadian MP Rathika in hot water over Jaffna episode". The Island (Sri Lanka).
- ^ a b c d "Statement from Gary Anandasangaree". ekuruvi.com. July 15, 2014.
- ^ a b c Wong, Jan; Clark, Campbell (January 8, 2005). "Tamils force Ottawa to grab the Tigers' tail". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b c d "Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau visits Tamil Fest Street Festival". Monsoon Journal 10 (4): 1. September 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Gary Anandasangaree To Seek Federal Liberal Nomination In Scarborough". seithy.com. October 7, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Gary Anandasangaree". Gary Anandasangaree and Associates.
- ^ a b "Gary Anandasangaree elected to Canadian Parliament". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Global News. October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Grads create first-ever scholarship in Tamil studies". York University. October 14, 2014.
- ^ "Gary A'sangaree launches bid for Federal Liberal nomination". Ceylon Today. October 14, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Sangaree’s son Gary elected to Canadian Parliament". The Island (Sri Lanka). October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Gary Anandasangaree of Liberal party won the nomination election for the Scarborough Rouge Park constituency". Tamil CNN. August 21, 2014.
- ^ "Anandasangaree's Son To Contest Canada's General Election". Asian Mirror. August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Gary Anandasangaree – A Sri Lankan Tamil Origin Elected To Canadian Parliament". Asian Tribune. October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Gary Anandasangaree wins Scarborough-Rouge Park for Liberals". adaderana.lk. October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Gary Anandasangaree wins in Scarborough-Rouge for Liberals". Tamil CNN. October 20, 2015.
- ^ Nathaniel, Camelia (May 25, 2014). "LTTE’s Gary Anandasangaree To Enter Canadian Politics?". The Sunday Leader.
- ^ Jayasekara, Bandula (July 6, 2015). "Guerrilla diplomacy and Wild West tactics in Toronto". The Island (Sri Lanka).
- ^ Fernando, Manjula (March 30, 2014). "Govt to ban LTTE fronts?". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
- ^ "Election Results - Electoral District: Scarborough—Rouge Park". Elections Canada.
- ^ "Federal Election 2015: Scarborough-Rouge Park riding results". Global News.
- Canadian activists
- Canadian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent
- Carleton University alumni
- Lawyers in Ontario
- Living people
- Liberal Party of Canada MPs
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
- Osgoode Hall Law School alumni
- Politicians from Toronto
- Sri Lankan emigrants to Canada
- Sri Lankan Tamil activists
- Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers
- Sri Lankan Tamil politicians