27 Facts About Deepak Obhrai

Deepak Obhrai was a Tanzanian-born Canadian politician, representing the riding of Calgary East and Forest Lawn for the Reform Party of Canada and then the Conservative Party of Canada from 1997 until he died in 2019.

Deepak Obhrai previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Deepak Obhrai was the first Hindu to become an MP in Canada, and at the time of his death was the longest continuously serving Conservative MP.

Deepak Obhrai ran in the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, but was defeated in the first round of voting.

Deepak Obhrai's father died when Obhrai was six, so he was raised by his mother, who worked at a bank.

Deepak Obhrai went to primary school in Moshi, a town near Mount Kilimanjaro, and went to high school in Arusha before transferring to the prestigious Daly College in Indore, India.

Deepak Obhrai moved to the United Kingdom and trained as an air traffic controller.

In 1976, Deepak Obhrai was on duty at a nearby Tanzanian airport when the Entebbe raid took place in neighbouring Uganda.

Deepak Obhrai immigrated to Canada in 1977 with his wife Neena, whom he had married in 1971, and his daughter Priti.

Deepak Obhrai originally wanted to immigrate to Montreal, but decided to avoid Quebec and go to Calgary instead because of the recent election of Rene Levesque's secessionist Parti Quebecois.

Deepak Obhrai retrained as an accountant in Calgary and got a job with the municipal government.

Deepak Obhrai was the vice-president responsible for Alberta in the National Indo-Canadian Council.

In 1993, Deepak Obhrai lost a race for an alderman position on Calgary City Council.

Deepak Obhrai launched failed bids for the Progressive Conservative nomination for a provincial by-election in Calgary-McCall in 1995 and for Calgary-Montrose in 1996.

Deepak Obhrai won the nomination and the riding and was re-elected when the Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance in 2000.

Deepak Obhrai was one of four Alliance MPs who agreed to sit with the Progressive Conservative caucus after the December 9,2003, creation of the merged Conservative Party.

Deepak Obhrai said that he "does not wish to debate a Liberal from Toronto," a reference to Calgary East Liberal candidate Josipa Petrunic, who despite her employment by the University of Toronto, was born and raised in Calgary, which was where she conducted her research.

Deepak Obhrai was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada by Governor General of Canada David Johnston on the advice of Stephen Harper.

In September 2014, Deepak Obhrai received the Pride of India Award from the Indo-American Friends Group of Washington, DC, and the Indo-American Business Chamber in a dinner ceremony held on Capitol Hill for his contributions towards strengthening Canada's political, social, and cultural relations with India and for his role in increasing Indian diaspora participation in pluralistic political activity.

Deepak Obhrai was the longest-serving Conservative MP in Canada's 42nd Parliament.

Deepak Obhrai served as the International Development Critic in the Shadow Cabinet of Rona Ambrose, before resigning from the Shadow Cabinet to seek the Conservative Party leadership.

Deepak Obhrai ran in the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election.

Deepak Obhrai did not return to the Shadow Cabinet under new Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer.

In December 2017, it was reported that Deepak Obhrai was being challenged for the Conservative nomination in Calgary Forest Lawn for the 2019 election by former Calgary-East MLA Moe Amery.

Deepak Obhrai married his wife Neena in 1971 and immigrated to Canada in 1977 along with their daughter Priti.

Deepak Obhrai died of liver cancer on August 2,2019, in Calgary.

Deepak Obhrai had been diagnosed with the disease just a few weeks earlier.