Voters in Brampton East sent the NDP candidate to Queen’s Park Thursday night as Gurratan Singh captured 17,606 votes, or about 47 per cent of the vote.

PC candidate Sudeep Verma placed second with about 34 per cent, while high-profile Liberal challenger Parminder Singh, the founder of Hockey Night in Canada’s Punjabi edition, trailed in a distant third.

The NDP’s Singh follows in the footsteps of his brother Jagmeet, who was an MPP before becoming the federal NDP leader.

Gurratan Singh, a lawyer, emphasized a commitment to “justice and equity,” while Parminder Singh, a doctor, pitched himself as best-positioned to fix healthcare.

Verma made a strong showing despite entering the race late. He replaced the previous Ontario PC candidate Simmer Sandhu, who withdrew from the race on May 16 after his former employer, the company that operates the 407 toll highway, said it had asked police to investigate the alleged theft of 60,000 customers’ information.

The contest was tighter in Brampton North where the NDP’s Kevin Yarde, a Weather Network personality, captured 14,877 votes, or 37.5 per cent of the total, defeating PC candidate Ripudaman Dhillon and Liberal incumbent Harinder Malhi, who ran on her record as minister for the status of women.

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