Bas Balkissoon

City Councillor In the 1988 municipal election, he was elected to Scarborough city council in what was then Ward 13; he was re-elected in 1991 and 1994. With the formation of the new amalgamated city of Toronto, he was elected to Toronto City Council in 1997 for Ward 18 Scarborough Malvern, serving alongside Raymond Cho. He was re-elected in 2000 and 2003 for Ward 41 Scarborough-Rouge River.

As chair of the city's Audit Committee he was credited with uncovering a dubious computer leasing deal between the city and MFP Financial, which eventually led to the formation of the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry. Balkissoon also served for a period on the Police Services Board on which he was critical of then-Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino as well as the Toronto Police Association and its leader at the time, Craig Bromell.

Ontario legislature In a by-election held on November 24, 2005, Balkissoon was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Scarborough—Rouge River, replacing Alvin Curling who was appointed as the Canadian ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Running for the Liberal Party, Balkissoon won with 58% of the vote. Conservative candidate Cynthia Lai received 24% of the vote and New Democrat Sheila White finished third with 15%. In the Liberal nomination prior to the by-election, the party chose to use a clause in its constitution that declared other candidates invalid, effectively handing the nomination to Balkissoon. This excluded other contenders such as Raymond Cho who considered putting his name forward.

Balkissoon was easily re-elected in the 2007 provincial election, defeating his closest opponent by over 17,000 votes. He was also re-elected in 2011, and 2014.

During his time in office he has been appointed to a number of Parliamentary Assistant roles including Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services (2006-7, 2014); Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (2007–10); and Minister of Community and Social Services (2010-2013). In 2011 he was named as Deputy Speaker and Chair of the Committee of the Whole House.

He resigned from the legislature on March 22, 2016, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

Electoral record

Ontario by-election, November 24, 2005PartyCandidateVotes%+/-