Shuvaloy Majumdar

Shuvaloy Majumdar
শুভালয় মজুমদার
Member of Parliament
for Calgary Heritage
Assumed office
July 24, 2023
Preceded byBob Benzen
Personal details
Born1979 or 1980 (age 44–45)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of Calgary

Shuvaloy "Shuv" Majumdar MP (Bengali: শুভালয় মজুমদার; born 1979/80)[1] is a Canadian politician, foreign policy advisor, and former consultant. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, Majumdar was elected to serve as Member of Parliament for Calgary Heritage in a 2023 by-election.[2][3]

Early life and education

Shuvaloy Majumdar was born in Calgary, Alberta to Indian immigrant parents of Bengali Hindu origin.[4] He attended the University of Calgary.[5]

Career

Activism

While a student at the University of Calgary, he became friends with current Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. They reportedly within the university's Reform Party campus club.[5]

In 2019, it was revealed that Majumdar name was mentioned as an organizer in the "Kamikaze campaign" scandal.[6][7] Cameron Davies who was “kamikaze” candidate Jeff Callaway campaign manager, was told by Callaway and prominent Jason Kenney staffer Matt Wolf that Majumdar should be “looped in”.[8][9] Majumder was revealed to be directing an order to Blaise Boehmer, Kenney’s communications director, “cue up” one of the "kamikaze" donors into do media appearances attacking Kenney’s top competitor, Brian Jean.[8] A day later, it was revealed that Majumdar also attended the meeting where the campaign scandal was initiated.[6] A Kenney spokesperson told CBC that he was a volunteer for the campaign.[9]

Think Tank Fellow

From 2006-2010, he worked for International Republican Institute.[10] Majumdar was a visiting foreign policy scholar at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia and was recruited by Reform Party Leader Preston Manning to work at the Manning Centre for Building Democracy for a couple of years.[5][11]

Following the 2015 Canadian federal election, Majumdar was hired by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to lead its foreign policy and national security program until January 1, 2023.[12][13] While working at MLI, Majumdar worked for Stephen Harper's consulting firm, Harper & Associates as their Global Director.[10]

Political career

Majumdar was a ministerial staffer for international trade minister Bev Oda.[11] He also served as policy director to Canadian foreign minister John Baird and worked alongside Jason Kenney when he was defence minister.[10]

Member of the House of Commons

Majumdar was elected to the House of Commons in a 2023 by-election following the resignation of Bob Benzen.[2][3] During the campaign, Majumdar told Sean Speer that for replacing "social justice with social mobility."[14] Upon his election, he became the third Conservative MP of South Asian descent.[15] Shuvaloy is a former member of the Standing Committee on Public Health, which he served on from Fall of 2023 to early 2024.[16] He currently serves as a member of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights.[17]

Electoral record

Canadian federal by-election, July 24, 2023: Calgary Heritage
Resignation of Bob Benzen
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Shuv Majumdar 15,853 65.63 +7.98
Liberal Elliot Weinstein 3,465 14.34 -2.39
New Democratic Gurmit Bhachu 3,429 14.20 -3.21
People's Kelly Lorencz 656 2.72 -2.29
Green Ravenmoon Crocker 407 1.68 +0.26
Christian Heritage Larry R. Heather 144 0.60 -
Maverick Dan Irving 131 0.54 -0.79
No Affiliation Donovan Eckstrom 71 0.29 -
Total valid votes 24,156 100.00
Total rejected ballots 57 0.24 -0.34
Turnout 24,213 28.89 -37.00
Eligible voters 83,799
Conservative hold Swing +5.13
Source: Elections Canada[18]

References

  1. ^ "Indo-Canadian Shuvaloy Majumdar wins prestigious House of Commons seat". The Statesman. July 27, 2023. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "'It's pretty sleepy': Calgary Heritage byelection to fill vacant Conservative seat". Calgary. July 24, 2023. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Conservatives maintain grip on Calgary Heritage with byelection win". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Diversely Indian: Not all Indo-Canadian MPs, ministers are Sikh". www.daijiworld.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Lévesque, Catherine (September 6, 2023). "The new conservatives: 12 to watch on Canada's rapidly rising right". National Post. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Gerson, Jen (March 18, 2019). "What really happened inside the Alberta UCP's 'kamikaze' campaign". Maclean's.
  7. ^ Russell, Charles (May 16, 2023). "Endless RCMP Probes Keep UCP Scandals off Voters' Minds".
  8. ^ a b PressProgress (March 17, 2019). "Executive at Stephen Harper's Consulting Firm Connected to 'Kamikaze Campaign', Leaked E-mails Show". PressProgress. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Russell, Charles (March 28, 2019). "Unravelling the controversy behind the 2017 UCP leadership race". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
  10. ^ a b c Corbella, Western Standard Guest Columnist,Licia (July 22, 2023). "CORBELLA: Shuv Majumdar, a candidate who comes prepared". Western Standard. Retrieved June 3, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ a b "Stephen Harper's global director Shuvaloy Majumdar said to be eyeing coveted Calgary Heritage seat". The Hill Times. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Breach, The (September 19, 2024). "Hindu far right pressured a Canadian university into cancelling a critical lecture ⋆ The Breach". The Breach. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Belouizdad, Skander (January 10, 2023). "Shuvaloy Majumdar passes the baton at MLI". Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  14. ^ "The future of the Conservative Party is more diverse (with a few caveats)". thehub.ca. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Shuv Majumdar is third Conservative MP of South Asian origin". Indo-Canadian Voice. July 25, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "Shuvaloy Majumdar - Member of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  17. ^ "Shuvaloy Majumdar - Member of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "July 24, 2023, By-Election – Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved December 25, 2023.