The Honourable
Niki Sharma
KC MLA
Attorney General of British Columbia
Assumed office
December 7, 2022
PremierDavid Eby
Preceded byMurray Rankin
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Vancouver-Hastings
Assumed office
October 24, 2020
Preceded byShane Simpson
Personal details
Born1979 or 1980 (age 43–44)[1]
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada[2]
Political partyNew Democratic
Other political
affiliations		Vision Vancouver (municipal)
Residence(s)Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Alberta
ProfessionLawyer

Niki Sharma KC MLA is a Canadian politician and lawyer, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 British Columbia general election. She represents the electoral district of Vancouver-Hastings as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP)[3] and serves as Attorney General of British Columbia.[4]

Early life and career

Born in Lethbridge, Alberta,[2] Sharma grew up in Sparwood, British Columbia with her three sisters.[5][6] Her parents immigrated from India; her father Pal ran a small business in Sparwood, while her mother Rose ran for municipal council three times without being elected.[7][8]

After graduating from the University of Alberta Faculty of Law,[7] she joined Vancouver law firm Donovan & Company in 2005, specializing in aboriginal law.[2][9] Prior to her election to the legislature, Sharma served as vice-chair of the board of directors for Vancity since 2016,[10] and Senior Oil and Gas Campaigner[11] for Stand.earth, an environmental organization founded in 2000.[12]

Politics

She ran as a Vision Vancouver candidate in the 2011 Vancouver municipal election and was elected a commissioner of the Vancouver Park Board,[2] at one point serving as chair of the board.[8] She then ran under the Vision banner for Vancouver City Council in the 2014 municipal election, but was unsuccessful.[1]

With incumbent Vancouver-Hastings Member of the Legislative Assembly Shane Simpson declining to run in the 2020 provincial election, Sharma was named the BC NDP candidate for the riding,[13][14] and won the seat with 60.6% of the vote.[15] On November 26, 2020, Sharma was named Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits by Premier John Horgan.[16]

On December 7, 2022, she was appointed by Premier David Eby as Attorney General of British Columbia, and therefore, automatically became a King's Counsel. She became the first South Asian Canadian woman to serve in that cabinet post.[7]

Electoral record

2020 British Columbia general election: Vancouver-Hastings
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticNiki Sharma13,36260.56+0.58$23,640.61
GreenBridget Burns4,31219.54+1.87$3,816.71
LiberalAlex Read3,88517.61−3.88$4,639.54
LibertarianGölök Z Buday3211.45–$550.68
CommunistKimball Cariou1840.83−0.03$123.40
Total valid votes 22,064100.00–
Total rejected ballots 1920.86+0.08
Turnout 22,25651.37−8.22
Registered voters 43,322
New Democratic hold Swing −0.65
Source: Elections BC[17][18]

References

  1. 1 2 Uechi, Jenny (2014-10-15). "Vision candidate Niki Sharma strives to make history as first South Asian woman on city council". Vancouver Observer. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Uechi, Jenny (2011-11-16). "Meet Vision Vancouver park board candidate Niki Sharma". Vancouver Observer. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  3. ↑ Charlie Smith, "B.C. NDP extends footprint over Vancouver, racking up huge gains since Gordon Campbell led B.C. Liberals". The Georgia Straight, October 25, 2020.
  4. ↑ "B.C. Premier David Eby unveils new cabinet with Niki Sharma, Katrine Conroy and Ravi Kahlon in top posts". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  5. ↑ "MLA: Hon. Niki Sharma". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  6. ↑ "Sparwood's Niki Sharma named B.C.'s Attorney General". e-know.ca (East Kootenay News Online Weekly). December 8, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  7. 1 2 3 DeRosa, Katie (December 9, 2022). "Niki Sharma will draw on lessons learned as a young girl in Sparwood in new role as B.C.'s Attorney General". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Charlie (2019-03-24). "Former park board chair Niki Sharma delivers stirring speech against racism after winning award in Surrey". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  9. ↑ Hui, Stephen (2014-02-26). "Park board chair Niki Sharma seeks Vision Vancouver nomination for council". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  10. ↑ Charlie Smith, "Vancity postpones election to its board of directors and plans "virtual" annual general meeting". The Georgia Straight, April 6, 2020.
  11. ↑ Cleaveland, Virginia (July 7, 2020). "Stand.earth welcomes influential staff, board members to its organization" (Press release). Stand.earth. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  12. ↑ Rob Shaw, "B.C. NDP's top staffer set to fight lawyer backed by MLAs for Vancouver-Hastings nomination". Vancouver Sun, September 9, 2020.
  13. ↑ Shaw, Rob (2020-09-08). "B.C. NDP's top staffer set to fight lawyer backed by MLAs for Vancouver-Hastings nomination". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  14. ↑ "BC NDP candidates announced following nomination contests". British Columbia New Democratic Party. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  15. ↑ Zussman, Richard; Little, Simon (2020-10-24). "B.C. election 2020: Vancouver-Hastings results". Global News. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  16. ↑ Lindsay, Bethany (2020-11-26). "New faces join B.C.'s new cabinet, while stalwarts stay on in key roles". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  17. ↑ "Statement of Votes — 42nd Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
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