Lone Tibetan candidate loses elections in Canada

The lone candidate of Tibetan origin, Bhutila Karpoche, lost to Karim Bardeesy of the Liberal Party in the Canada federal elections, the results which were declared today. She contested the elections from the Parkdale-High Park constituency in Toronto state on the ticket of the New Democratic Party and finished second with 14,665 votes.

The Tibetan community-in-exile had rallied in support of Bhutila, who was also the first woman of the Tibetan origin to contest for representation in Canada’s highest legislative body. Tibetans-in-exile took to social media to support Bhutila in her election campaign. She, at present, serves as a Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale-High Park in Toronto.

In 2018, she had become the first person of the Tibetan origin to be elected to public office in North America when she won the seat in the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Several influential figures in the Tibetan diaspora community had endorsed Bhutila and were encouraging Tibetans in Toronto to vote and campaign for her.

Sources said that Parkdale-High Park was home to one of the largest concentrations of Tibetans in Canada and Bhutila had been a steadfast advocate for her community. During her first term as the member of the provincial parliament of Toronto, she proposed a Bill to designate July as Tibetan Heritage Month, which became a law in Ontario in September 2020.

Bhutila also founded the Ontario Parliament’s Friends of Tibet initiative in 2019 and hosts Tibet Day events to foster connections between community members and politicians. She had developed internship programmes, to cultivate political leadership skills among Tibetan youth.

She was re-elected as a member of the provincial parliament in 2022 and served as the First Deputy Chair of the Ontario Legislative Assembly. She had been recognised for her advocacy of affordable housing, workers’ rights and public healthcare.