Bhutila Karpoche

Early life and education Karpoche was born in Nepal and is the second of four children.

In 2002, Karpoche, then 18, left Nepal with her entire family in haste amid the escalation of the Nepalese civil war, which saw large-scale fightings between Nepali forces and the Communist Party of Nepal in rural areas.

Karpoche started her university education and attended University of British Columbia for her undergraduate studies, earning a bachelor of science degree.

Karpoche's first language is Tibetan and she learned English while living in Nepal. She also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario, and on the steering committee of the International Tibet Network.

In November 2024, she was nominated as the federal NDP candidate for Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park.

Member of Provincial Parliament On September 14, 2017, the Parkdale—High Park NDP riding association nominated Karpoche as the party's candidate in the 2018 general election. She won the election on June 7, 2018, and her party won the second most seats, becoming the Official Opposition.

Following her election, NDP leader Andrea Horwath appointed Karpoche as deputy opposition whip and mental health and addictions critic. In a shadow cabinet shuffle on August 30, 2019, the deputy opposition whip was passed to Doly Begum.

In 2019, she was voted Toronto's Best Local Politician by Toronto Star readers. She was voted Best MPP by Now Magazine readers in 2019, 2020 and 2021. In 2023, she received the Parliamentarian Champion national award from Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) recognizing her work to advance the mental health agenda across the country. She is also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012 and the King Charles III Coronation Medal 2025.

Karpoche was re-elected in the 2022 election with 53.97% of the popular vote.

Following the selection of Interim Leader Peter Tabuns, Karpoche retained her critic portfolio of early childhood development and children, and was assigned the additional portfolio of GTA issues. On July 15, 2022, it was announced that the Ontario NDP would be nominating Karpoche as a Deputy Speaker in the 43rd parliament.

As of August 11, 2024, she serves as the Official Opposition's critic for Affordability and for GTA issues.

In September 2024, Karpoche announced she would not seek re-election in the 2025 Ontario general election so that she could run in the 2025 Canadian federal election in the federal constituency of Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park.

Electoral record