Rakhi Pancholi
MLA
Pancholi in July 2023
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Whitemud
Assumed office
April 16, 2019
Preceded byBob Turner
Personal details
Born (1977-08-16) 16 August 1977 (age 46)
Ontario, Canada
Political partyAlberta NDP
Residence(s)Edmonton, Alberta
Alma materUniversity of Alberta
University of Toronto
OccupationLawyer
Websitehttps://www.voterakhi.ca/

Rakhi Pancholi (born 16 August 1977) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-Whitemud. Born to Tanzanian and Indian parents,[1] she is a lawyer in Edmonton with a focus on education law.[2]

On 8 February 2024, Pancholi announced that she is running for Leader of the Alberta NDP.

Education

Pancholi completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta, majoring in history and political science. She studied law at the University of Toronto, with a focus on Constitutional Law.

Career

Pancholi was a practising lawyer in Edmonton with a focus on labour/employment and education law. She has experience working with the Alberta School Boards Association and was a senior legislative consultant for Alberta Education.[3]

Pancholi helped to establish LEAF's "No Means No" (NMN) program in 2007 which focused on youth and sexual assault issues.[4] Between 2008 and 2013 Pancholi worked for the Alberta government in the Alberta Education Department. During that time she led the drafting the Education Act.[5] Pancholi also worked for Alberta school boards.[5]

In 2019 Pancholi entered politics and was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Edmonton-Whitemud.

Personal life

Pancholi has two young children with her husband Owen, and have two rescue dogs as they are both advocates for animal rescue and adoption.[3]

Electoral history

2023 general election

2023 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Whitemud
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Rakhi Pancholi 12,797 60.40 +11.22
United Conservative Raj Sherman 7,799 36.81 -2.63
Liberal Donna Wilson 370 1.75 –
Green Cheri Hawley 221 1.04 –
Total 21,187 99.29 –
Rejected and declined 152 0.71
Turnout 21,339 64.65
Eligible voters 33,005
New Democratic hold Swing +6.92
Source(s)
Source: Elections Alberta[6]

2019 general election

2019 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Whitemud
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Rakhi Pancholi 11,373 49.18% -8.27%
United Conservative Elisabeth Hughes 9,120 39.44% 0.86%
Alberta Party Jonathan Dai 2,335 10.10% –
Freedom Conservative Jason Norris 297 1.28% –
Total 23,125 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 63 76 18
Eligible electors / turnout 32,810 70.73% 10.33%
New Democratic hold Swing -7.75%
Source(s)
Source: "46 - Edmonton-Whitemud, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2019). 2019 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer. Volume II (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2. Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 180–183. ISBN 978-1-988620-12-1. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

References

  1. ^ "Rakhi Pancholi | Alberta Democrats | Ladies Corner with Tee – Jacana Books". Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  2. ^ "Top down or grassroots? NDP, UCP take differing approaches to gender balance | CBC News".
  3. ^ a b Pancholi, Rakhi. "Elected Members". Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
  4. ^ "Branch Highlights" (PDF). 2007/2008 LEAF/FAEJ Annual Report: 5. 2008.
  5. ^ a b Bellefontaine, Michelle (June 17, 2019). "Education minister walks back earlier statement on Alberta GSA protections". CBC. Retrieved January 22, 2023.((cite news)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "46 - Edmonton-Whitemud". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved June 9, 2023.


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