Brampton North

Brampton North saw one of the more unusual nomination battles leading into the 2022 election. Kevin Yarde, the NDP incumbent who in 2018 became the first Black MPP elected in the Peel Region, was defeated in his own party’s nomination contest by Sandeep Singh in April 2022. Yarde subsequently left the NDP caucus to sit as an independent until the end of his term. On the PC side, the party was seeking to flip the seat as part of a broader push to win all of Brampton. The riding was considered a key swing seat, and both Premier Doug Ford and NDP leader Andrea Horwath made early campaign visits to Brampton North.

The Liberals also saw an opportunity to reclaim a riding they had held under Harinder Malhi from 2014 to 2018. Brampton North stretches across the northern portion of the city and includes large suburban residential neighbourhoods that experienced significant population growth during the preceding term.

Candidates

Graham McGregor (Progressive Conservative) — Born and raised in Brampton, McGregor had worked in several roles within the Ontario government, including at the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. He had previous political experience through his work with former Brampton—Springdale MP Parm Gill and Brampton West MPP Amarjot Sandhu, and was active in the community through the Brampton Youth Hockey Association.

Harinder K. Malhi (Liberal) — Malhi was a former MPP who first won the riding (then called Brampton—Springdale) in the 2014 election. She is a graduate of Ryerson University in public administration and governance, and previously served as a Peel District School Board trustee. During her time at Queen’s Park she held parliamentary assistant positions, including in the office of the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues. Her father, Gurbax Singh Malhi, served as the federal Liberal MP for Bramalea—Gore—Malton from 1993 to 2011.

Sandeep Singh (NDP) — Singh won the NDP nomination after defeating the incumbent MPP Kevin Yarde in a contested nomination meeting. He had worked as a marketing director at an immigration consultancy prior to the campaign.

Minor candidates included Aneep Dhade (Green Party), Jerry Fussek (New Blue Party), and Julia Bauman (Ontario Party).

Local Issues

As in all Brampton ridings, healthcare was the dominant local issue. Brampton Civic Hospital’s chronic overcrowding and the lack of a second full-service hospital meant residents often faced long emergency room wait times and hallway medicine. The PC government’s plan to expand Peel Memorial into a full-service hospital was a central talking point, though opposition parties argued the announcement lacked a firm timeline and sufficient funding.

Highway 413 featured prominently, with Premier Ford making his first campaign stop of the election in Brampton North alongside McGregor to reiterate the PC commitment to build the highway. The NDP and Liberals promised to cancel the project, instead pledging investments in public transit and other infrastructure.

The NDP’s internal nomination dispute also shaped the local race. Kevin Yarde’s ouster as the party’s candidate raised questions about diversity and representation within the NDP, with some community members publicly questioning the process. The controversy may have dampened NDP enthusiasm in the riding. Housing affordability and the cost of living were also significant concerns, as Brampton’s rapid population growth outpaced the construction of new housing and supporting infrastructure.