Raj Saini

Raj Saini MP
Raj Saini at the Waterloo Region CARP Debate at CIGI
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Kitchener Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Stephen Woodworth
Personal details
Born	1967 (age 51–52) in a small village in Himachal Pradesh, India, known as Bhiura or Balh
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Kitchener, Ontario
Profession	Pharmacist

Rajinder "Raj" Saini MP (born 1967) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Kitchener Centre in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election.

Background

Saini’s political leanings were formed growing up in a Liberal household in Mississauga in the 1970s and 1980s, and later as a student at the University of Toronto, where he completed a bachelor of science before going on to complete a bachelor of science in pharmacy at Boston's Northeastern University.

Early career

Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Saini was a pharmacist, having moved to Kitchener to start Greenbrook Pharmacy, a local independent business which he has co-owned and operated for more than 20 years. Prior to becoming an elected official, Saini had long been involved in both his community and the Liberal Party. He is a past president and past vice-president of the Kitchener Center Federal Liberal Association, a Rotarian, and has served as a member of the Canadian International Council, Waterloo.

Political career

Saini has said that one of his top priorities for his time in Ottawa is addressing Canada’s need for a national pharmacare policy. He is a member of two parliamentary committees, the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, as well as the Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics Committee. Reflecting an interest in Foreign Affairs, Saini is a member of multiple Parliamentary Associations and Parliamentary Friendship Groups, including the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Canadian Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), and the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (NATO PA). He is also an executive member of the Canada-Germany Interparliamentary Group.

Saini has spoken in the House of Commons on a number of occasions as a Member of Parliament, speaking on topics including the International Day for Tolerance, Public Safety Canada, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, and Canada's efforts to combat ISIL.

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Raj Saini	25,504	48.78	+16.49	$100,662.46
	Conservative	Stephen Woodworth	15,872	30.36	-10.00	$126,009.07
	New Democratic	Susan Cadell	8,680	16.60	-5.32	$58,064.50
	Green	Nicholas Wendler	1,597	3.05	-1.52	$1,292.98
	Libertarian	Slavko Miladinovic	515	0.99	–	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Julian Ichim	112	0.21	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			52,280	100.00		$209,331.18
Total rejected ballots			292	0.56	–
Turnout			52,572	68.46
Eligible voters			76,797
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+13.25
Source: Elections Canada