Brampton West

Brampton West was held by Progressive Conservative MPP Amarjot Sandhu, who won the seat in 2018. Sandhu arrived in Canada in 2008 as an international student from Punjab, India, making him the first person elected as an Ontario MPP after coming to Canada as an international student. During his first term, he served as a backbencher and critics argued he had been insufficiently vocal in advocating for Brampton’s needs at Queen’s Park, particularly on healthcare. The 2022 election would test whether the PCs could maintain their hold on the riding despite low engagement and widespread dissatisfaction with local services.

Brampton West covers the western portion of the city and includes large residential subdivisions that expanded rapidly during the 2010s. The riding recorded the lowest voter turnout in Brampton in the 2022 election, at roughly 34 percent — a drop from about 48 percent in 2018.

Candidates

Amarjot Sandhu (Progressive Conservative) — Sandhu attended George Brown College in Toronto, graduating with a post-graduate degree in wireless networking. Before his 2018 election, he worked as a computer engineer, network analyst, and realtor in Brampton. As a student, he founded the International Students’ Federation.

Rimmy Jhajj (Liberal) — Jhajj is a Registered Nurse and lifelong Brampton resident. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Western Ontario and worked in both acute hospital and community healthcare settings. She previously volunteered with the Brampton Youth Council and served on the board of directors for the Peel Multicultural Society.

Navjit Kaur (NDP) — Kaur is a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Brampton Civic Hospital. She was acclaimed as the NDP candidate and campaigned on healthcare, affordability, and improving local schools.

Minor candidates included Pauline Thornham (Green Party), David Pardy (New Blue Party), and Manjot Sekhon (Ontario Party).

Local Issues

Healthcare remained the most pressing issue in Brampton West, consistent with the rest of the city. Brampton Civic Hospital’s overcrowding was a daily reality for residents, and the riding’s NDP candidate — a respiratory therapist at that very hospital — brought firsthand knowledge of the crisis to the campaign. The PC government’s plan for Peel Memorial was a point of contention, with opposition candidates arguing the city needed genuinely new hospital capacity rather than a phased expansion of an existing facility.

Highway 413 was another focal point. The proposed highway would pass through or near Brampton’s western boundary, and the project divided local opinion. The PCs framed it as essential infrastructure for reducing commute times, while the NDP, Liberals, and Greens called it a developer-driven project that would damage the Greenbelt and farmland. Transit advocates argued the funds should go toward improving public transit connections to Toronto.

Representation and accountability were also themes in the race. Critics accused Sandhu of being insufficiently active in championing Brampton’s interests at Queen’s Park, particularly on healthcare and infrastructure. The historically low voter turnout across Brampton — with Brampton West recording the city’s lowest participation rate — raised concerns about civic disengagement in one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities.