Sarah Jama

Background Jama, a Somali Canadian Muslim, was born with cerebral palsy and uses a walker or wheelchair for mobility.

She attended McMaster University, where she obtained a social sciences degree. At McMaster, she ran for student union presidency, and was disqualified for exceeding campaign spending limits and retweeting a "Bad Taste" article. Her disqualification was lifted on appeal, and she came in second upon re-tabulation of the votes.

Activism In 2014 she wrote on disability justice issues for the magazine of the Young Communist League of Canada, Rebel Youth. In 2016 she served as Ontario director for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students, and was named one of Hamilton's "most interesting people" by the CBC for her work in organizing an "Anti-Racism Action Initiative" and her disability justice activism. Jama was involved in accessibility advocacy and pro-Palestine advocacy at McMaster University.

Jama co-founded the Disability Justice Network Ontario in September 2018 and co-founded the Hamilton Encampment Support Network in 2021, focusing on affordable housing access.

In 2021, Jama was arrested by police in Beasley Park in central Hamilton at a protest against homeless encampment evictions in the city. Charges against her were later withdrawn after she entered into a peace bond. The peace bond prohibited her from crossing police caution tape, interfering with police operations related to homeless people, and participating in illegal or violent demonstrations.

Politics 2022 Jama sought the provincial NDP nomination for run in an upcoming by-election to represent Hamilton Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, after former MPP and NDP leader Andrea Horwath resigned to run for mayor. Jama was named the NDP candidate in October 2022.

2023 Jama's campaign drew controversy over a statement she made in 2021 that Israel is funding "the killing of people here locally and globally", for which she later apologized.

On March 16, 2023, Jama was elected as the MPP for Hamilton Centre, garnering 9,477 votes, comprising 54% of the vote.

Khader Adnan controversy In May 2023, Jama retweeted a post about the death of Palestinian prisoner and hunger-striker Khader Adnan, a former spokesperson for of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is listed as a terrorist entity in Canada. The post called him a "martyr for freedom". She also called for the "end [of] all occupation of Palestinian land" and offered her sympathies to people mourning on both sides.

Her statement was criticized by Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles, and prompted Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser, Premier Doug Ford, and Jewish organizations such as Holocaust education group Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs to call for her resignation from caucus. In response to Ford's statement, Jama served Ford's office a cease and desist letter and threatened to sue him for libel; she never did, however, and her timeframe to do so expired. Although Jama released her statements under NDP letterhead, the party was not made aware of the pending statement, and had not endorsed Jama's positions. Stiles privately met with Jama asking her to remove the statement and apologize; Jama subsequently apologized for her posts in a reply to them about 24 hours later on Twitter, but refused to remove the statements and instead pinned her statement to the top of her feed on X.

On October 23, 2023, the legislature voted 63–23 to censure Jama in response to her comments. The NDP voted against the censure, with Stiles noting that it was an "extreme motion" and that "We do not believe the government should use its majority to strip a member of their right to speak and vote. This is an extreme step that will disenfranchise the voters of Hamilton Centre".

Removal from the NDP caucus On the day of the censure vote, Jama was removed from the NDP caucus. In an official party statement, Stiles noted that Jama had been uncooperative with NDP colleagues, making unilateral decisions without party endorsement and endangering the work environment of NDP staff, and had broken the terms of an agreement Stiles had made with Jama, which would have kept her affiliated with the party following Jama's statements on the Israel–Hamas war. Officials said that staff had worked with Jama on a statement, but it differed from what she said instead publicly in the moments preceding her expulsion. She also had not informed the party about her intention to threaten the Premier with legal action.

Letter denying rapes by Hamas In November 2023, Jama signed an open letter denying that Israeli women were subjected to rape and sexual violence during 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. On November 21, her office stated that Jama had removed her name from the letter.

2024 Keffiyeh controversy In April 2024, House Speaker Ted Arnott introduced a keffiyeh ban in the Ontario legislature, saying it was being worn to make an overt political statement, which is against the rules of the legislature. In the days following the ban, she refused to remove her keffiyeh, and Arnott ordered Jama to leave the chamber and she was subsequently banned from legislature for the rest of the day. This event repeated itself numerous times at Queen's Park, and two other members of the NDP followed in her footsteps. On May 6, 2024, Ted Arnott loosened the rules surrounding the keffiyeh to allow it to be worn in the Queen's Park assembly building legislative precinct except inside the house legislative chamber and galleries. On May 6, 2024, Jama was ordered to leave the chambers. Jama said she had no intention of ending her stand of solidarity with the Palestinian people. This prompted concern from a number of quarters, including B’nai Brith and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. Her candidacy to run for the NDP was supported by Hamilton Centre Member of Parliament Matthew Green and by the Ontario NDP riding executive. On January 27, 2025, her candidacy was rejected by the party, with Jama deciding to run as an independent in the 2025 Ontario general election. She placed fourth, with Robin Lennox retaking the riding for the NDP.

Electoral record 2023 Hamilton Centre provincial by-election