Harjit Sajjan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sajjan in 2023 | |
| President of the King's Privy Council for Canada | |
| In office July 26, 2023 – March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Bill Blair |
| Succeeded by | Dominic LeBlanc |
| Minister of Emergency Preparedness | |
| In office July 26, 2023 – March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Bill Blair |
| Succeeded by | David McGuinty |
| Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada | |
| In office October 26, 2021 – March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Gregor Robertson |
| Minister of International Development | |
| In office October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Karina Gould |
| Succeeded by | Ahmed Hussen |
| Minister of National Defence | |
| In office November 4, 2015 – October 26, 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Jason Kenney |
| Succeeded by | Anita Anand |
| Minister of Veterans Affairs | |
| Acting February 12, 2019 – March 1, 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Jody Wilson-Raybould |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence MacAulay |
| Member of Parliament forVancouver South | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – March 23, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Wai Young |
| Succeeded by | Riding dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Harjit Singh Sajjan (1970-09-06)September 6, 1970 (age 55) Bombeli,Punjab, India |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Vancouver, British Columbia[1] |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Police officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Canada |
| Branch |  Canadian Army |
| Service years | 1989–2015[2] |
| Rank |  Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Unit | Royal Canadian Regiment |
| Commands | British Columbia Regiment |
| Conflicts / operations | |
| Awards | |
| Police career | |
| Department | Vancouver Police Department |
| Branch | Gang Crime Unit |
| Status | Retired |
| Rank | Detective |
Harjit Singh Sajjan[a] (born September 6, 1970) is a Canadian former politician, military officer, and police officer who was themember of Parliament (MP) forVancouver South from 2015 to 2025. A member of theLiberal Party, Sajjan held a number ofCabinet positions. He wasMinister of National Defence from 2015 to 2021,Minister of International Development from 2021 to 2023, andMinister of Emergency Preparedness andPresident of the Privy Council from 2023 to 2025. Before entering politics, Sajjan was aVancouver Police Department detective and a lieutenant-colonel in theCanadian Army.
Sajjan was born on September 6, 1970, in Bombeli, a village in theHoshiarpur district ofPunjab, India.[3][4] His father, Kundan Singh Sajjan, was ahead constable with thePunjab Police in India.[5] His father was a member of the board of theWorld Sikh Organization, which has been described as a radical Sikh group.[6][7] Sajjan, along with his mother and older sister, immigrated to Canada in 1976, when he was five years old, to join their father who had left for BC two years earlier to work at a sawmill.[4][8] While the family was getting established in their new life in Canada, his mother worked on berry farms in BCLower Mainland during the summer where Sajjan and his sister would frequently join her.[8] Harjit Singh grew up in SouthVancouver.[8]
Sajjan married Kuljit Kaur, a family physician in 1996, and they have a son and a daughter, Arjun and Jeevut.[8][9]
Sajjan wasbaptized as a Sikh when he was a teenager, seeing it as a way to get away from a bad crowd, such as his classmateBindy Johal who became a notorious gangster.[4][10]
Sajjan joinedThe British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) in 1989 as atrooper and was commissioned as an officer in 1991. He eventually rose to the rank oflieutenant-colonel. He deployed overseas four times in the course of his career: once toBosnia and Herzegovina, and three times toAfghanistan.[11] Sajjan began his 11-year career as an officer of the Vancouver Police Department after returning from his Bosnian deployment.[11][8] He ended his career with the Vancouver Police Department as a detective with the department's gang crimes unit specializing in drug trafficking[11] and organized-crime investigation.[8][10]
Sajjan's first deployment to Afghanistan was shortly before the start ofOperation Medusa in 2006, during which he took leave from his work in the Vancouver Police Department's gang squad.[8] He deployed with the 1st Battalion,Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group inKandahar and worked as a liaison officer with the Afghan police.[4] Sajjan found that corruption in the Afghan government was driving recruitment to theTaliban.[4] After reporting these findings toBrigadier GeneralDavid Fraser, Sajjan was tasked with helping the general plan aspects of Operation Medusa.[4]
Fraser evaluated Sajjan's leadership during the operation as "nothing short of brilliant".[4] When Sajjan returned to Vancouver, Fraser sent a letter to the police department which called Sajjan "the best single Canadian intelligence asset in theatre", stated that his work saved "a multitude of coalition lives", and noted that the Canadian Forces should "seek his advice on how to change our entire tactical intelligence training and architecture".[8][12][13] Sajjan wasmentioned in dispatches for the usefulness of his tactical counterinsurgency knowledge in the planning and implementation of an unnamed operation in September 2006 to secure important terrain.[14]
Upon his return, Sajjan left his position with the Vancouver police, but stayed as a reservist and started his own consulting business that taught intelligence gathering techniques to Canadian and American military personnel.[4] He also consulted for US policy analyst and Afghanistan expertBarnett Rubin, which began as a correspondence over Sajjan's views on how to tackle the Afghan opium trade and evolved into a collaboration as advisers to American military and diplomatic leaders in Afghanistan.[8][15]
Sajjan returned to Afghanistan for another tour of duty in 2009, taking another tour of leave from the Vancouver Police Department to do so.[8] Having already taken two leaves of absence, Sajjan had to leave the Vancouver Police Department for his third tour of duty in 2010, during which he was assigned as a special assistant to then Major-GeneralJames L. Terry, the commander of American forces in Afghanistan.[8][12]
In 2011, he became the firstSikh to command a Canadian Army reserve regiment when he was named commander of The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own).[16]
He was bestowed with theMeritorious Service Medal in 2012[17] for diluting theTaliban's influence in Kandahar Province.[11] He has also been awarded theCanadian Peacekeeping Service Medal,[11] theOrder of Military Merit award, and served asAide-de-Camp to thelieutenant governor of British Columbia.[18]
His Sikh beliefs require him to keep his facial hair which prevents the use of regular military gas masks, so Sajjan invented his own gas mask that worked with his beard, and patented it in 1996.[10][19]
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Sajjan was elected for the riding ofVancouver South during the2015 federal election, defeating Conservative incumbentWai Young.[20][21][22] Sajjan was appointedminister of national defence in thefederal Cabinet, headed byJustin Trudeau, on November 4, 2015.[23] He was also briefly acting minister ofveterans affairs in February 2019 following the resignation ofJody Wilson-Raybould,[24] until the appointment ofLawrence MacAulay to the portfolio.[25]
His alleged links with theKhalistan movement have caused diplomatic friction with Punjab's former chief minister,Amarinder Singh.[26] Harjit Sajjan also has faced allegations fromNew Democratic Party (NDP) that he is "playing down his connections to the detainee controversy during the [Afghanistan] combat mission [Medusa], where Canadians handed over prisoners to torture by Afghan authorities."[27]
In September 2019, Sajjan attended an event that was held to celebrate the70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, for which he was subsequently criticized by the Conservatives.[28][29][30] A spokesperson for Sajjan said that he appeared in his capacity as a candidate for his riding and did not stay for long.[30]
In an April 2017 public speech inNew Delhi, Sajjan called himself "the architect" ofOperation Medusa, a September 2006 Canadian offensive to removeTaliban fighters from aroundKandahar.[14] In July 2015, Sajjan had made the same claim during an episode of the BC programConversations That Matter, stating that GeneralJonathan Vance, thechief of the defence staff at the time the story broke in 2017, saw him as "the architect" in the 2006 offensive.[31][32] At the time of Operation Medusa, Sajjan was amajor in theCanadian Army reserve and a liaison officer toTask Force Kandahar, where large combat operations such as Medusa were usually worked upon by generals andcolonels.[33]
One of the anonymous officers cited in theNational Post, which first broke the story, called Sajjan's statement "a bald-faced lie", while others praised him on a personal level and for his expert intelligence work, but found his claim "really, quite outrageous" because the planning for Operation Medusa was collaborative.[14][33] Canadian historianJack Granatstein said that Sajjan was a skilled intelligence officer who would have presented important intelligence in the leadup to the operation, but that he "certainly wouldn't have been the chief planner". Granatstein said that while the mistake was not one that was worth resigning over, it would still hurt his relationship with the military.[14] In an interview onAM640,Christopher Vernon, a British officer who served as chief of staff forNATO forces in Southern Afghanistan at Kandahar during Medusa, said that Sajjan's role in the planning was "more than integral" and that Sajjan was a "pivotal player" in the operation. Vernon noted that Sajjan had worked "hand-in-glove" with the Australianlieutenant colonel who was the lead planner and that without Sajjan's intelligence work, the operation would not have happened.[34] Brigadier-GeneralDavid Fraser had also extensively praised the indispensable nature of Sajjan's role in Operation Medusa.[35]
Sajjan issued apologies in which he apologized to members of the Canadian Forces, theUnited States Armed Forces, and theAfghan Armed Forces in the operation, and noted that the successes of Operation Medusa were due to the contributions of all members of the Canadian Forces who were involved. Sajjan also acknowledged that describing himself as "the architect" was a mistake, and highlighted the role of Brigadier-General David Fraser in leading the team that planned the operation.[14][31][36][37]
Sajjan was supported by Justin Trudeau amidst calls from the opposition for him to resign.[38][39] A failed vote of no confidence in Sajjan was put forth by the Conservatives in the House of Commons.[40][41] He was censured by the House of Commons in 2021 for "misleading Canadians about his service record".[42]
Sajjan was moved from Minister of National Defence to minister of international development in an October 2021 cabinet reshuffle.[43]
Sajjan has come under substantial criticism for his handling of sexual assault within the Canadian Armed Forces.[44][45][46] According to Megan MacKenzie, a sexual assault expert and academic, "Sajjan already has zero credibility on this issue and, at this point, it's unclear what it would take to remove him from this position given the clear signs he is not capable of leading or enacting change when it comes to military sexual violence".[44]
In 2018, Sajjan was presented with alleged evidence of a sexual assault by GeneralJonathan Vance but refused to look at it.[47] Gary Walbourne, the military's ombudsman, told a parliamentary committee that he had privately warned Sajjan of the allegations against Vance.[48]
Sajjan was censured by the House of Commons in 2021 over his handling of the sexual misconduct issue.[46]
In 2024,The Globe and Mail reported that, as Defence Minister, Sajjan instructedCanadian special forces to rescue about 225Afghan Sikhs during the 2021evacuation of Kabul. Anonymous military sources cited by the Globe and Mail accused Sajjan of misusing military resources that could otherwise have been dedicated to evacuating Canadian citizens andAfghans linked to Canada.[49] While Canadian armed forces managed to airlift 3,700 people out of Afghanistan, predominantly Canadian citizens and permanent residents, citizens of allied countries, and Afghans who worked for Canada, 1,250 Canadian citizens/permanent residents and hundreds of Afghans who assisted the Canadian army were left behind.[50]
Sajjan alleged that he merely passed along information about the Sikhs to the military and did not issue any direct orders to rescue them. However, GeneralWayne Eyre, theChief of the Defence Staff, told the media that the military was following "legal orders" when it attempted the rescue of the Sikhs.[51][52] An anonymous special forces officer told theGlobe:“There was such furious anger that the last 24 hours were solely dedicated to getting the Sikhs out”.[50]
TheBloc Québécois and formerConservative Party leaderErin O’Toole called on the government to investigate Sajjan's actions.[53]
The Globe and Mail's editorial board wrote that "Sajjan failed Canada, and Canadians" by compromising the evacuation of Canadian citizens and people with links to Canada through his request.[50]
Bloc Quebecois MP Christine Normandin, criticized Sajjan's actions, stating: "We learned through The Globe and Mail that the minister might have provided some directives to prioritize the evacuation of Afghans of the Sikh faith to the detriment of Canadians" and "Certain individuals including [former Canadian military] interpreters were left behind because the resources to evacuate people were limited." She later moved a motion, which was unanimously adopted, calling for Sajjan along with other senior officials to testify.[54]
The Globe also reported that directors of the Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation, a Canadian Sikh group that sought to privately sponsor Afghan Sikhs' arrival to Canada, made multiple donations to Sajjan's Liberal riding association; the donations coincided with the foundation pressing Sajjan and the government to rescue a group of Afghan Sikhs during the Kabul evacuation. Sajjan claimed that the foundation reached out to him personally, and he relayed the information provided to him by the foundation to the military's chain of command. The donations also coincided with Sajjan seeking reelection during the2021 Canadian federal election.[54][55]
In September 2024, it was reported that the House of Commons committee on national defence planned to investigate Sajjan's actions during the Kabul evacuation.[54]
In 2024,The Globe and Mail reported that as Minister of International Development, Sajjan requested 100 soldiers to act as backdrops for a pop concert by Punjabi musicianDiljit Dosanjh.[56] The request was refused by the Canadian Forces. Sajjan's spokesman defended the request, saying that Dosanjh "is the biggest Punjabi artist in the world".[57]
Sajjan has received the following honours and decorations during and after his military career.
| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
_ribbon_(OMM).jpg) | Order of Military Merit (OMM) |
|
_BAR.svg) | Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) |
|
 | South-West Asia Service Medal |
|
.png) | General Campaign Star |
|
 | Mentioned in dispatches |
|
 | NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia |
|
 | Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal | |
 | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
|
 | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |
|
 | King Charles III Coronation Medal |
|
 | Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD) |
|
 | Commendation Medal |
|
 | Chief of Defence Staff Commendation | |
| Deputy Minister Award |
| |
| Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards |
|
| 2021 Canadian federal election:Vancouver South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Harjit Sajjan | 19,910 | 49.4 | +8.2 | $82,846.68 | |||
| New Democratic | Sean McQuillan | 9,922 | 24.6 | +6.0 | $3,175.98 | |||
| Conservative | Sukhbir Singh Gill | 9,060 | 22.5 | -10.7 | $90,407.62 | |||
| People's | Anthony Cook | 1,104 | 2.7 | +1.5 | $1,151.17 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Anne Jamieson | 287 | 0.7 | – | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 40,283 | 100.0 | – | $108,408.40 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 493 | |||||||
| Turnout | 40,776 | 54.5 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 74,785 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +7.1 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[65][66] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Vancouver South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Harjit Sajjan | 17,808 | 41.2 | -7.61 | $96,879.65 | |||
| Conservative | Wai Young | 14,388 | 33.3 | -0.58 | $82,900.36 | |||
| New Democratic | Sean McQuillan | 8,015 | 18.6 | +4.63 | none listed | |||
| Green | Judy Zaichkowsky | 2,451 | 5.7 | +3.12 | none listed | |||
| People's | Alain Deng | 532 | 1.2 | – | $11,771.39 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 43,194 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 431 | |||||||
| Turnout | 43,625 | 58.9 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 74,114 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -3.52 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[67][68] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Vancouver South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Harjit Sajjan | 21,773 | 48.81 | +15.05 | $161,402.16 | |||
| Conservative | Wai Young | 15,115 | 33.88 | -8.54 | $118,748.27 | |||
| New Democratic | Amandeep Nijjar | 6,230 | 13.97 | -7.10 | $63,954.79 | |||
| Green | Elain Ng | 1,149 | 2.58 | +0.37 | $5,232.68 | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Charles Boylan | 178 | 0.40 | – | – | |||
| Progressive Canadian | Raj Gupta | 166 | 0.37 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 44,611 | 100.00 | $203,440.39 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 259 | 0.58 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 44,870 | 64.04 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,062 | |||||||
| Liberalgain fromConservative | Swing | +11.80 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[69][70] | ||||||||
"During the event, Mr. Sajjan delivered brief remarks where he spoke of the long-standing focus of the organization on promoting diversity and their efforts to grant Chinese-Canadians the right to vote. Mr. Sajjan took the opportunity to state that the Chinese government needed to address the consular cases of the two arbitrarily detained Canadians. Mr. Sajjan believes in standing up for the rights of Canadians and has done so on numerous occasions. Shortly following the remarks, Mr. Sajjan departed. … Mr. Sajjan did not stay for dinner."
| 29th Canadian Ministry (2015–2025) – Cabinet ofJustin Trudeau | ||
| Cabinet posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Jason Kenney | Minister of National Defence November 4, 2015 – October 26, 2021 | Anita Anand |
| Karina Gould | Minister of International Development October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023 | Ahmed Hussen |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
