Kamal Khera | |
|---|---|
 Khera in 2024 | |
| Minister of Health | |
| Assumed office March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Mark Carney |
| Preceded by | Mark Holland |
| Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities | |
| In office July 26, 2023 – March 14, 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Ahmed Hussen |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Minister of Seniors | |
| In office October 26, 2021 – July 26, 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Deb Schulte |
| Succeeded by | Seamus O'Regan |
| Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of International Development | |
| In office August 31, 2018 – January 31, 2021 | |
| Minister | Karina Gould |
| Preceded by | Celina Caesar-Chavannes |
| Succeeded by | Maninder Sidhu |
| Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of National Revenue | |
| In office January 30, 2017 – August 31, 2018 | |
| Minister | Diane Lebouthillier |
| Preceded by | Emmanuel Dubourg |
| Succeeded by | Deb Schulte |
| Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Health | |
| In office December 2, 2015 – January 27, 2017 | |
| Minister | Jane Philpott |
| Preceded by | Cathy McLeod |
| Succeeded by | Darren Fisher |
| Member of Parliament forBrampton West | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Kyle Seeback |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1989-02-04)February 4, 1989 (age 36)[1] Delhi, India |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Jaspreet Dhillon |
| Residence(s) | Brampton,Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | York University (BSN) |
| Occupation |
|
Kamalpreet KheraPC MP (born February 4, 1989) is an Indian born Canadian politician who has been theminister of health since 2025.[2] A member of theLiberal Party, Khera has represented theriding ofBrampton West in theHouse of Commons since the2015 federal election. She also served as theminister of seniors from October 26, 2021 to July 2023.
Prior to entering politics, Khera attendedYork University where she earned an Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She went on to work as a registered nurse in the palliative and oncology units atSt. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto.[2]
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, she volunteered at a long-term care facility in her hometown of Brampton and administered vaccines in her community.[2][3]
Khera was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Brampton West in December 2014, and won the seat in the federal election in the following October.[4][5][6] When first elected in 2015, Khera was the youngest Liberal MP in the House, and the second-youngest overall behindPierre-Luc Dusseault of theNew Democratic Party (NDP).[7] She was re-elected in the 2019 federal election,[8] and in 2021.[9] Khera is one of the youngest women ever to be elected to Parliament.[citation needed]
Parliamentary Secretary
On December 2, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Khera as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of health, then as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of national revenue on January 18, 2017. Beginning August 31, 2018, Khera served as the parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development.[10]
Khera stepped down from her role as parliamentary secretary on January 3, 2021, after having travelled to the United States in December to attend a memorial service for her uncle, while the federal government was discouraging international travel.[3]
On September 20, 2021, Khera was re-elected as the member of Parliament for Brampton West.[11]
Minister of Seniors
On October 26, 2021, Khera was joined cabinet as the minister of seniors.[10] She is amongst the youngest members of the cabinet and the Privy Council of Canada.[12]
Her mandate was marked by the government’s restoration of the age of eligibility for retirement back to 65, an increase of theGuaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), which has helped over 900,000 seniors, and has lifted 45,000 of them out of poverty, the enhancement of theCanada Pension Plan (CPP), and a 10 per cent increase ofOld Age Security (OAS) pensions for seniors over 75.[13]
In 2025, Kamal Khera appointed to Canadian PMMark Carney's Cabinet at Senior Positions.[14]
Minister of Diversity, Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities
On July 26, 2023, Khera was appointed to the position of minister of diversity, inclusion, and persons with disabilities following a cabinet shuffle in the summer of 2023.[10] She succeedsAhmed Hussen, who was minister of housing and diversity and inclusion, andCarla Qualthrough, who was minister of persons with disabilities.[15]
On June 8, 2024, Khera announced the launch of the federal government's new Anti-Racism Strategy, a $110.4 million investment aimed at driving action in employment, justice and law enforcement, housing, healthcare and immigration systems.[16]
Khera has also rolled out the Canadian Disability Benefit in the 2024 Canadian federal budget, providing an investment of $6.1 billion to help uplift thousands of working-age persons with disabilities and their families. As proposed, the benefit is estimated to increase the financial well-being of over 600,000 low-income persons with disabilities.[17]
| 2021 Canadian federal election:Brampton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kamal Khera | 25,780 | 55.3 | +1.8 | $107,717.96 | |||
| Conservative | Jermaine Chambers | 13,186 | 28.3 | +4.4 | $33,421.74 | |||
| New Democratic | Gurprit Gill | 6,097 | 13.1 | -5.3 | $0.00 | |||
| People's | Rahul Samuel Zia | 1,218 | 2.6 | +1.7 | $0.00 | |||
| Independent | Sivakumar Ramasamy | 328 | 0.7 | N/A | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,609 | 99.2 | – | $115,623.57 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 390 | 0.8 | ||||||
| Turnout | 46,999 | 54.3 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,557 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | -1.3 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[18] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Brampton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kamal Khera | 28,743 | 53.5 | -2.39 | $109,585.64 | |||
| Conservative | Murarilal Thapliyal | 12,824 | 23.9 | -6.21 | $110,270.48 | |||
| New Democratic | Navjit Kaur | 9,855 | 18.4 | +5.96 | $74,444.87 | |||
| Green | Jane Davidson | 1,271 | 2.4 | +0.85 | $683.08 | |||
| People's | Roger Sampson | 505 | 0.9 | $3,955.00 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Paul Tannahill | 319 | 0.6 | none listed | ||||
| Communist | Harinderpal Hundal | 97 | 0.2 | $476.56 | ||||
| Canada's Fourth Front | Anjum Malik | 69 | 0.1 | $0.00 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 53,683 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 735 | |||||||
| Turnout | 54,418 | 62.6 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,912 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +1.91 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[19][20] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election:Brampton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Kamal Khera | 24,256 | 55.89 | +19.81 | $186,667.41 | |||
| Conservative | Ninder Thind | 13,068 | 30.11 | -11.90 | $179,464.92 | |||
| New Democratic | Adaoma Patterson | 5,400 | 12.44 | -7.18 | $29,137.39 | |||
| Green | Karthika Gobinath | 674 | 1.55 | -0.02 | $702.19 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 43,398 | 100.00 | $203,918.62 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 245 | 0.56 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 43,643 | 61.70 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 70,734 | |||||||
| Liberalgain fromConservative | Swing | +15.86 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[21][22] | ||||||||