Several Immigrants Elected to Canadian Parliament
Canada is a vast land of spectacular scenery; a land of abundant natural resources; and a multicultural land of immigrants who have arrived from around the globe seeking better opportunities for life. There are many Canadian immigration success stories of people from various regions of the Earth and diverse backgrounds who move to Canada and achieve remarkable accomplishments. Thousands of immigrants find good-paying jobs in Canada, launch new start-up companies, earn university degrees or other post-secondary diplomas, send their children to university, enter academia, and even enter Canadian politics or work for Canada’s government. These are just some examples of the achievements made by people who immigrate to Canada.
One inspiring Canadian immigration success story belongs to Ahmed Hussen. In 1993, he was approved to immigrate to Canada from his home country of Somalia, which was engulfed in civil war at the time. After this brave 16-year-old Somali refugee moved to Canada, he went on to graduate from high school, “worked his way through college” in Toronto, earned university degrees in history and law, and has worked as a Canadian attorney and activist in Ontario. To this list of impressive accomplishments, Ahmed Hussen has recently reached one more amazing milestone – on October 19, 2015, he became the first immigrant born in Somalia to be elected to the Canadian Parliament.
Ahmed Hussen wasn’t the only immigrant elected to the House of Commons in the recent national elections held across Canada. Several foreign-born Canadian Members of Parliament were elected in October 2015, including: Maryam Monsef who was born in Afghanistan; Geng Tan who was born in China; Sven Spengemann who was born in Germany; Kang Darshan Singh, Kamal Khera, Harjit Singh Sajjan, Ramesh Sangha, Bob Saroya, Jati Sidhu and Amarjeet Sohi who were all born in India; Majid Jowhari who was born in Iran; Fayçal El-Khoury, Eva Nassif and Marwan Tabbara who were all born in Lebanon; Iqra Khalid and Salma Zahid who were both born in Pakistan; Tom Kmiec who was born in Poland; Peter Fonseca who was born in Portugal; Ahmed Hussen who was born in Somalia; Ali Ehsassi who was born in Switzerland; Arif Virani who was born in Uganda; and Robert Gordon Kitchen who was born in the United Kingdom.
It should be noted that the majority of approximately 250,000 people who immigrate to Canada each year are not refugees, as in the incredible case of Ahmed Hussen. Rather, most people who are approved for Canadian immigration arrive as “economic immigrants” whose occupations are in high-demand in Canada and who meet other criteria for skilled foreign workers. Thus, if someone can move to Canada as a teenage refugee fleeing civil war and eventually become not only a lawyer, but a Member of the Canadian Parliament, imagine what you and your family could accomplish as permanent residents of Canada! To find out which Canadian immigration program you are best-suited to apply for, click here!
