Canada: Shaila Kibria Wins NDP Nomination for Provincial Race

By Ayub Khan, Muslim Media News Service (MMNS)

Shaila Kibria, the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate in Mississauga-Erindale, hopes to become the first hijab-wearing woman elected to Queen’s Park.

Kibria was nominated Thursday night at a nomination meeting held at the Brittania Glen Co-op.

Kibria, 32, is a teacher and activist, and a former University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) student.

She organized the recent Day to Stop Child Sexual Abuse and has freelanced for CBC Radio. She’s also an author, having written Marriyah’s Day, a children’s book about diversity. At UTM, she opened a food bank and helped re-establish a childcare centre at the school. She also founded the Canadian Federation of Students’ campaign, “No Islamophobia, No Anti-semitism, No Racism.”

Kibria teaches at her mosque, the Islamic Forum of Canada, and has established a food bank there.

She is married and has three children.

Kibria hopes to unseat Liberal incumbent Harinder Takhar in the Oct. 10 provincial election. David Brown is running in the riding as the Progressive Conservative candidate and Abraham Phillip is representing the Family Coalition Party.

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