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Canadians elected more visible minority MPs this year than in any previous federal election. In total, 47 visible minority MPs have been elected, making up 14 per cent of Canada’s 42nd national parliament.

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This represents a five per cent rise over the previous parliament, which had 28 visible minority MPs, also a historic high.

“I think it is a trend,” said Chris Cochrane, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. “It’s going to be increasingly the case in Canadian politics that visible minority MPs will be elected.”

The bulk of the visible minority MPs belong to Canada’s major cities, with many coming from South and East Asian communities. The Greater Toronto Area is home to 20 of the visible minority MPs, followed by the Greater Vancouver Area, which elected six.

Notably, this is the first time that the proportion of visible minority candidates in Parliament reflects the per cent of visible minority candidates who ran for election. Usually, a far greater proportion runs than is actually elected, said Erin Tolley, an expert on visible minorities in Canadian politics at the University of Toronto.