Paramvir "Parm" Bains is a Canadian politician who has represented Richmond East—Steveston (formerly Steveston—Richmond East) in the House of Commons since 2021, as a member of the Liberal Party.
Parm Bains | |
|---|---|
 Bains in 2025 | |
| Member of Parliament for Richmond East—Steveston Steveston—Richmond East (2021-2025) | |
| Assumed office September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Kenny Chiu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Party | Liberal |
Other political affiliations | Richmond Community Coalition |
| British Columbia Institute of Technology Royal Roads University (Master of Arts) | |
Early life and career
editBorn in Victoria, British Columbia, Bains moved with his family to Richmond at the age of one.[1][2] He is from a Sikh family and his parents immigrated to Canada from Mahilpur, Punjab, India.[3][4] He attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and later received a master of arts degree in professional communications from Royal Roads University.[1][5] He worked for the Government of British Columbia as a public and media relations officer, then as a lecturer at Kwantlen Polytechnic University's School of Business.[1][2][6]
Bains is married and has two children.[2]
Politics
editBains ran for Richmond City Council in the 2018 British Columbia municipal elections as a Richmond Community Coalition candidate,[7] but was not elected.[2]
He ran as a Liberal Party candidate in the 2021 federal election, and defeated Conservative incumbent Kenny Chiu in the riding of Steveston—Richmond East.[8][9][10] In the 44th Parliament, he served as member in the standing committees on Government Operations and Estimates, and Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.[11]
Bains endorsed Mark Carney in the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election.[12] He was re-elected in the renamed riding of Richmond East—Steveston in that year's federal election, receiving 48.5% of the vote,[13] and became member of the standing committee on Industry and Technology in the 45th Parliament.[11]
Chinese interference allegations
editIn 2023, allegations surfaced that the Chinese government may have attempted to influence Parm Bains' 2021 election victory in Steveston—Richmond East.[14][15] Reports indicated disinformation campaigns on Chinese-language platforms, such as WeChat and WhatsApp, targeted his opponent Kenny Chiu, a critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and sponsor of a foreign influence registry bill.[16]
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents flagged the riding as a potential target of interference.[17][18] Bains denied that foreign interference played a role in his victory and insisted he won "fair and square."[19]
Electoral history
editFederal elections
edit| 2025 Canadian federal election: Richmond East—Steveston | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Parm Bains | 25,705 | 48.45 | +6.54 | $125,732.93 | |||
| Conservative | Zach Segal | 24,605 | 46.38 | +12.39 | $128,731.43 | |||
| New Democratic | Keefer Pelech | 2,251 | 4.24 | –15.14 | $4,484.39 | |||
| Green | Steven Ji | 494 | 0.93 | –1.41 | $590.25 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 53,055 | 100.0 | – | $129,548.56 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 361 | 0.68 | –0.24 | |||||
| Turnout | 53,416 | 63.98 | +11.21 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 83,489 | |||||||
| Liberal notional hold | Swing | –2.93 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[20][21] | ||||||||
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Steveston—Richmond East | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Parm Bains | 16,543 | 42.47 | +7.36 | $107,393.91 | |||
| Conservative | Kenny Chiu | 13,066 | 33.55 | –8.11 | $88,909.23 | |||
| New Democratic | Jack Trovato | 7,525 | 19.32 | +4.25 | $9,430.58 | |||
| People's | Jennifer Singh | 955 | 2.45 | – | $2,482.99 | |||
| Green | Françoise Raunet | 860 | 2.21 | –4.87 | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limits | 38,949 | 100.00 | – | $108,448.59 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 363 | 0.92 | –0.10 | |||||
| Turnout | 39,312 | 52.77 | –4.17 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 74,503 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.74 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[22][23][24] | ||||||||
Municipal elections
editTop 8 candidates elected — Incumbents marked with "(X)". Elected members' names are in bold
| Party | Council candidate | Vote | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RITE Richmond | Carol Day (X) | 20,871 | 7.01 | |
| Richmond Citizens' Association | Harold Steves (X) | 19,136 | 6.43 | |
| Richmond Community Coalition | Chak Au (X) | 18,026 | 6.05 | |
| Richmond First | Bill McNulty (X) | 17,242 | 5.79 | |
| Richmond Citizens' Association | Kelly Greene | 16,464 | 5.53 | |
| Richmond First | Linda McPhail (X) | 15,521 | 5.21 | |
| RITE Richmond | Michael Wolfe | 13,627 | 4.58 | |
| Independent | Alexa Loo (X) | 13,212 | 4.44 | |
| Richmond First | Derek Dang (X) | 13,115 | 4.40 | |
| Richmond First | Andy Hobbs | 12,336 | 4.14 | |
| Richmond Citizens' Association | Judie Schneider | 11,672 | 3.92 | |
| Richmond Community Coalition | Ken Johnston (X) | 11,161 | 3.75 | |
| Richmond Community Coalition | Jonathan Ho | 11,140 | 3.74 | |
| Richmond Citizens' Association | Jack Trovato | 10,915 | 3.67 | |
| Richmond First | Sunny Ho | 8,933 | 3.00 | |
| RITE Richmond | Niti Sharma | 8,917 | 2.99 | |
| RITE Richmond | Henry Yao | 8,467 | 2.84 | |
| Richmond First | Peter Liu | 8,357 | 2.81 | |
| Richmond Community Coalition | Parm Bains | 7,973 | 2.68 | |
| Independent | John Roston | 7,961 | 2.67 | |
| Richmond Community Coalition | Melissa Zhang | 7,708 | 2.38 | |
| Independent | Kerry Starchuk | 6,959 | 2.34 | |
| Independent | Jason Tarnow | 5,720 | 1.92 | |
| Independent | Adil Awan | 4,278 | 1.44 | |
| Independent | Manjit Singh | 4,134 | 1.39 | |
| Independent | Dennis Page | 3,478 | 1.17 | |
| Independent | Andy Chiang | 3,337 | 1.12 | |
| Independent | Theresa Head | 3,251 | 1.09 | |
| Independent | Patrick J. Saunders | 2,241 | 0.75 | |
| Independent | Zhe Zhang | 2,241 | 0.75 | |
References
edit- 1 2 3 "About". Parm Bains. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Clarke, Kirsten (July 30, 2021). "Liberals choose candidate for Steveston-Richmond East". Richmond News. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ Grewal Sharma, Manraj (April 29, 2025). "Record Indian-origin candidates shine in Canadian federal elections as NDP leader Jagmeet Singh faces crushing defeat". The Indian Express. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ↑ "In photos: How key India-origin candidates fared in 2025 Canada election". The Times of India. April 29, 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ↑ "About the committee: Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates—Study on Federal Government Consulting Contracts Awarded to McKinsey & Company (June 5, 2023)". Canada Border Services Agency. August 29, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ "Candidate questionnaire: Liberal candidate for Richmond East-Steveston Parm Bains". Richmond News. April 15, 2025. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ Xiong, Daisy (May 4, 2018). "Richmond Community Coalition announces council candidates". Richmond News. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ Lazarukl, Susan (September 21, 2021). "Election 2021 results: Liberals heading toward sweep in Richmond and Delta". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- ↑ Rantanen, Maria (September 21, 2021). "Steveston-Richmond East riding: Voters send 'extremely clear' message, says Liberal MP-elect Parm Bains". Richmond News.
- ↑ "Paramvir Bains". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- 1 2 "Profile - Bains, Parm". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ↑ Lévesque, Catherine (January 15, 2025). "MPs are rallying to Carney and Freeland as they prepare leadership bids". National Post.
- ↑ Rantanen, Maria (April 29, 2025). "Canada Votes 2025: Liberal Parm Bains secures second term in Steveston". Richmond News. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ↑ Osman, Laura (May 3, 2024). "Foreign interference may have 'impacted' 2021 result in Richmond riding, inquiry finds". Vancouver Sun.
- ↑ "Appearance of the Chief Electoral Officer on Foreign Interference in Canadian Elections" (PDF). Elections Canada: 87. November 1, 2022.
- ↑ Lee, Sze-Fung; Fung, Benjamin (January 4, 2022). "Misinformation and Chinese interference in Canada's affairs". Policy Options. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ↑ Canada, Communications Security Establishment (January 24, 2024). "House Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) Appearance, Chief, CSE - March 2, 2023". Communications Security Establishment Canada. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ↑ Hogue, Marie-Josée (May 3, 2024). "Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions" (PDF). Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions: 25 – via foreigninterferencecommission.ca.
- ↑ Burke, Ashley (March 31, 2023). "Liberal MP says he won his riding 'fair and square' after rival tells committee he was undermined by Beijing". CBC News.
- ↑ "Richmond East—Steveston Validated Results". Election Night Results. Elections Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Election Night Results — Elections Canada". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ↑ Canada, Elections. "Final Election Expenses Limits for Candidates — 44th Canadian Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
- ↑ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 19, 2022.