45 Facts About Ruby Dhalla

Ruby Dhalla was born on February 18,1974 and is a Canadian businesswoman and politician.

Ruby Dhalla was defeated by Conservative Parm Gill in the 2011 federal election.

Ruby Dhalla first attracted international attention in 1984, when she was ten years old and living in Winnipeg's north end.

Ruby Dhalla attended McMaster University for her first year of university on a full scholarship.

Ruby Dhalla then resumed studies at the University of Winnipeg and received a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry, with a minor in political science, in 1995.

Ruby Dhalla instead moved to Toronto in the same year, and graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1999.

Ruby Dhalla was politically active from a young age and volunteered for Winnipeg Liberal candidate David Walker in the 1988 federal election, and later became a prominent member of the Manitoba Young Liberals.

Ruby Dhalla worked on numerous political campaigns, co-chairing different election committees and volunteering in many provincial and federal political campaigns.

Ruby Dhalla was elected as a delegate to the 1990 Liberal Leadership Convention in Calgary and was one of the first Young Liberals in Manitoba to support Paul Martin.

Ruby Dhalla again supported Martin's bid to become Liberal Party leader in 2003.

The deputy campaign director for the Liberal Party defended Ruby Dhalla's selection, describing her as a star candidate who would be beneficial to the party.

Ruby Dhalla was a prominent organizer of the "Canada for Asia" benefit concert in January 2005, along with Senator Jerry Grafstein and singer Tom Cochrane.

Ruby Dhalla travelled with the Prime Minister to Sri Lanka and India in 2005 on a trade mission visit to promote trade between both nations.

In October 2005, Ruby Dhalla organized a relief effort for victims of an earthquake in Pakistan.

In parliament Ruby Dhalla introduced her first private members bill to create a secretariat for foreign credentials recognition.

Ruby Dhalla voted in favour of Canada's same-sex marriage legislation in 2005, noting to the media that while it was in opposition to her beliefs, it was right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ruby Dhalla was easily re-elected, while the Conservatives won a minority government at the national level.

Ruby Dhalla turned down the offer, saying that the Conservatives do not represent her values.

Ruby Dhalla later criticized Wajid Khan for crossing from the Liberals to the Conservatives.

Ruby Dhalla criticized the Conservatives for cancelling the Martin government's national day-care plan, and spoke against the prospect of large, for-profit foreign firms taking over the industry.

Ruby Dhalla wrote an opinion piece for the Toronto Star newspaper in early 2008, calling for developed countries to invest the necessary resources to target tuberculosis in the global south.

In Parliament Ruby Dhalla founded the HAT caucus for parliamentarians of all political parties to bring greater awareness on the issues.

Ruby Dhalla opposed the Conservative government's changes to Canada's immigration laws in early 2008, wherein the government set an annual limit on the number of cases to be heard and gave the Immigration Minister the discretion to fast-track some applicants.

Ruby Dhalla suggested that the Conservatives would show favouritism to immigrants from certain communities.

Ruby Dhalla issued a Private Member's Bill in April 2008, calling on the federal government to apologize for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident, in which a ship with 376 mostly Sikh immigrants was denied access to Canada.

In 2008, Ruby Dhalla faced a difficult re-election and ultimately defeated Conservative candidate Parm Gill by a small margin amid a provincial swing from the Liberals to Conservatives.

In Parliament, Ruby Dhalla continued to raise issues affecting women, minorities and youth and worked to promote trade between Canada and emerging economies.

In 2007, an investigation was launched by Service Canada investigators regarding allegations Ruby Dhalla made in the process of her decision to terminate the employment of a Parliamentary staffer.

The investigation noted that while the staffer was on medical leave, Ruby Dhalla claimed the staffer was not actually ill, however the investigation concluded that in spite of multiple requests for evidence to substantiate her claims, the investigator was given no evidence from Ruby Dhalla, and considerable evidence to the contrary had been presented.

Ruby Dhalla has tried to block the release of a DVD of a Bollywood movie she starred in before she was elected to Parliament.

Ruby Dhalla has denied producers claims she signed a distribution waiver, was paid $2,000, or gave a supportive TV interview at the premiere in a cinema that screens made-in-India movies.

Ruby Dhalla travelled to the Indian state of Punjab in January 2008.

Allegations later surfaced that the children were beaten by the police after being apprehended, and a local television station ran an out-of-context quote from Ruby Dhalla that seemed to imply she condoned the violence.

Ruby Dhalla clarified that she condemned any type of violence against children and called for an investigation into the incident.

On May 5,2009, the Toronto Star newspaper ran a front-page story with allegations that two caregivers hired to look after Ruby Dhalla's mother had been illegally employed and mistreated.

Ruby Dhalla later released a statement indicating that she had no involvement with the hiring or supervision of the women.

Ruby Dhalla held a press conference two days later in which she described the allegations against her as a coordinated attack on her reputation.

Ruby Dhalla's lawyer suggested that the controversy was part of a partisan smear campaign orchestrated by her political opponents.

Mason said that she informed Ruby Dhalla she was breaking the law and had 24 hours to return the passport, and that to her recollection the passport was returned the following day.

Ruby Dhalla had previously rejected Mason's accusations, saying that she had never spoken with anyone at Intercede.

Ruby Dhalla was defeated by Conservative Parm Gill in the 2011 federal election.

On January 22,2025, Ruby Dhalla announced that she would enter the Liberal Party of Canada leadership election to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The day after, Ruby Dhalla was disqualified by the party due to multiple allegations of ten irregularities in her campaign ranging foreign interference to inaccurate financial reporting.

Ruby Dhalla's cousin, Bava Dhillon, is a member of the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation and ran for chief in 2021.

Ruby Dhalla currently serves as the CEO of the Dhalla Group, which is in the "healthcare, real estate, and hospitality" industries.