Lali spent eleven summers working in the forestry industry, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and South Asia Area Studies from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, where he helped establish the Chair of Punjabi and Sikh Studies. He served one term as City Councillor in Merritt starting in 1988, and was an employment counsellor for the Merritt Outreach Program from 1986 until 1991.[1]
In the 1991 election he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as MLA for Yale-Lillooet by defeating one-term Social Credit incumbent James Rabbitt, and was re-elected in 1996. Lali served as the Minister of Transportation and Highways from 1998 to 2001 under three different Premiers.[3] For the 2001 election, he chose not to run for re-election.
He returned to the Assembly by winning his riding in the 2005 election ahead of BC Liberal Party candidate Lloyd Forman and Green Party candidate Michael McLean. Lali ran again elected in the newly created riding of Fraser-Nicola in the 2009 election and was re-elected over BC Liberal Party candidate Ella Brown.
Following the party's loss in the 2009 election, Lali was one of the "baker's dozen" of MLAs who opposed NDP leader Carole James' continued leadership.[5] The caucus revolt was successful, and James resigned as leader on December 6, 2010.[6] On January 7, 2011, Lali announced he would be a candidate in the subsequent leadership election.[7] Less than a month later, Lali dropped out of the race, saying that he was unable to come up with the funds necessary to mount a credible campaign.[8]
In the 2013 election, Lali ran for re-election in his riding of Fraser-Nicola, but suffered a surprising defeat to BC Liberal candidate Jackie Tegart. Lali blamed his defeat on both a poorly-run provincial campaign, and on local NDP voters staying home because he was considered a shoo-in.[9]
On May 17, 2016, Lali announced he would run for the NDP nomination for Fraser-Nicola in a bid to reclaim his seat.[10] He was challenged by Aaron Sam, a Lower Nicola Indian Band chief. NDP leader John Horgan preferred Sam and tried to persuade Lali to drop out in his favour, but Lali declined.[11][12] Lali won the nomination but lost his re-match with Tegart.
On May 11, 2023, Lali announced he was joining BC United (formerly the BC Liberals), saying that the NDP had become focused on urban interests to the exclusion of rural issues.[13]
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