Jas Johal
Minister for Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services of British Columbia
In office
June 12, 2017 – July 18, 2017
PremierChristy Clark
Preceded byAmrik Virk
Succeeded byJinny Sims (Citizens' Services)
Bruce Ralston (Technology)
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Richmond-Queensborough
In office
May 9, 2017 – September 21, 2020
Preceded bynew district
Succeeded byAman Singh
Personal details
Born1969 or 1970 (age 53–54)[1]
Jalandhar, Punjab, India[2]
Political partyBC Liberal
Residence(s)Richmond, British Columbia
Alma materBritish Columbia Institute of Technology
ProfessionJournalist

Jas Johal is a Canadian politician and media personality. He served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia for the electoral district of Richmond-Queensborough in the 41st Parliament of British Columbia (2017-2020), as part of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus.

Early life and career

Born in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, Johal moved to British Columbia at the age of two with his family, growing up in the interior city of Williams Lake before resettling in Greater Vancouver.[2][3] After graduating from the British Columbia Institute of Technology with a diploma in communications,[2][3] he began his broadcasting career at Vancouver radio station CKNW AM980 in 1991, then joined BCTV (now Global BC) in 1994, eventually becoming a senior reporter with the station.[4][5] He moved over to Global's national news division in 2005 as its BC correspondent, then became the network's Asia bureau chief in 2008, based in Beijing and New Delhi.[5][6]

After leaving Global in 2014, he served as director of communications for the BC LNG Alliance, a trade group for the province's liquefied natural gas export industry, until 2016.[1][6]

Politics

He was approached by the British Columbia Liberal Party to contest the new riding of Richmond-Queensborough in the 2017 provincial election,[1] in which he defeated British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Aman Singh by 134 votes to become the riding's MLA.[4][7] On June 12, 2017, he was named the Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services,[8] serving in that role for just over a month until the new NDP government was sworn in following the defeat of the Liberal minority government in a non-confidence motion.

For the remainder of the 41st Parliament, Johal served as the Official Opposition critic for Economic Development, Competitiveness, Trade and Technology.[6] He sponsored one private member bill, the Reducing Waste Act (Bill M-206), on March 14, 2018, which sought to prohibit the retail sale of single-use beverage pods unless it is fully compostable.[9]

Johal once again faced Aman Singh in the 2020 provincial election, this time losing to Singh.[10] Following his defeat, he rejoined CKNW as host of The Jas Johal Show in August 2021.[4]

Electoral Record

2020 British Columbia general election: Richmond-Queensborough
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticAman Singh9,40647.65+6.90$50,855.54
LiberalJas Johal7,72839.15−2.28$59,892.51
GreenEarl Einarson1,4967.58−5.14$2,311.39
ConservativeKay Hale1,1085.61+2.11$6,570.00
Total valid votes 19,738100.00–
Total rejected ballots 1540.77 
Turnout 19,89249.56−6.22
Registered voters 40,138
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +4.59
Source: Elections BC[11][12]
2017 British Columbia general election: Richmond-Queensborough
Party Candidate Votes%Expenditures
LiberalJas Johal8,21841.43$67,089
New DemocraticAman Singh8,08440.75$30,369
GreenMichael Wolfe2,52412.72$400
ConservativeKay Khilvinder Hale6943.50$1,279
New RepublicanLawrence Chen3181.60$0
Total valid votes 19,838100.00–
Total rejected ballots 1940.97
Turnout 20,03255.78
Registered voters 35,911
Source: Elections BC[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Olivier, Cassidy (2016-11-02). "Former TV reporter and LNG rep Jas Johal gets B.C. Liberal nod for Richmond-Queensborough". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  2. 1 2 3 "Election 2017 Primer" (PDF). Richmond Sentinel. April 2017. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  3. 1 2 省選專題: 辛格對戰周豪傑 律師鬥記者兩印裔相爭 [Provincial election special: Singh vs. Johal, lawyer vs. journalist: contest between two Indo-Canadians] (in Traditional Chinese). Sing Tao Daily, via dushi.ca. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  4. 1 2 3 Brown, Scott (2021-08-03). "Former Liberal MLA Jas Johal returns to broadcasting with new CKNW show". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  5. 1 2 "Staff Personalities: Jas Johal". CKNW. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  6. 1 2 3 "41st Parliament Members at dissolution on September 21, 2020: Jas Johal". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  7. ↑ "BC Liberals win minority government: What you missed on election night". The Globe and Mail, May 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ "B.C. Premier Christy Clark and cabinet sworn in". CBC News. 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  9. ↑ Xiong, Daisy (April 5, 2018). "Johal introduces pods bill". Richmond News. Richmond, British Columbia. p. 28.
  10. ↑ Lindsay, Bethany (2020-10-25). "Prominent Liberals staring at defeat as NDP sweeps through B.C." CBC News. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  11. ↑ "Statement of Votes — 42nd Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "2017 Provincial General Election - Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  14. ↑ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
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