Introduction
Dipika Damerla, MPP is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville. She serves as a Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet of Premier Kathleen Wynne, focusing on long-term care in the health care system.
Background
Damerla was born in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India (Present day Telangana). Her early years were spent travelling around India with her family because her father was in the military.
After emigrating to Canada she earned her MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She worked in corporate banking at the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Prior to the election she was Senior Policy Advisor to Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Trade. She lives in Mississauga with her daughter, Sharmeila.
Politics
Damerla is a member of the Ontario Liberal Party. She won a tough 2011 nomination race to be the Liberal candidate for Mississauga East—Cooksville, beating Nancy Fonseca (the sister of previous Mississauga East—Cooksville MPP Peter Fonseca). She beat her nearest rival, Progressive Conservative Zoran Churchin by 4,238 votes in the 2011 provincial election.
In November 2011, she was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure. In April 2012, Damerla introduced a resolution to reform the 1998 Condominium Act. Her resolution would help facilitate disputes between condiminium boards and owners. She said that the current system is long and costly. She said, "the act provided a dispute resolution process which was right for that time and the place. However, 14 years later, times have changed. Our province is a very different place now." The resolution passed first reading in June.
She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election.
In June 2014, Damerla was appointed as an Associate Minister (Minister without portfolio) for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care focusing on long-term care.
On January 12, 2017, Premier Wynne announced Damerla as Minister of Seniors Affairs, a new standalone ministry.
Electoral Record
| Ontario general election, 2014: Mississauga East—Cooksville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| Liberal | Dipika Damerla | 20,934 | 52.33 | +6.59 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Zoran Churchin | 10,479 | 26.20 | −7.06 | ||||
| New Democratic | Fayaz Karim | 6,158 | 15.39 | −1.40 | ||||
| Green | Linh Nguyen | 1,408 | 3.52 | +0.97 | ||||
| Libertarian | Levko Iwanusiw | 788 | 1.97 | |||||
| Equal Parenting | Dolly Catena | 234 | 0.58 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 40,001 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 557 | 1.37 | ||||||
| Turnout | 40,558 | 43.89 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 92,402 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +6.83 | ||||||
| Source(s) Elections Ontario (2014). "Official Returns from the Records, 048 Mississauga East-Cooksville" (PDF). Retrieved 13 March 2015. | ||||||||
| Ontario general election, 2011: Mississauga East—Cooksville | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| Liberal | Dipika Damerla | 15,535 | 45.74 | −13.19 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Zoran Churchin | 11,297 | 33.26 | +10.18 | ||||
| New Democratic | Waseem Ahmed | 5,704 | 16.79 | +8.33 | ||||
| Green | Lloyd Jones | 934 | 2.75 | −3.50 | ||||
| Independent | Winston Harding | 199 | 0.59 | |||||
| Freedom | Jonathon Dury | 177 | 0.52 | −0.12 | ||||
| Paramount Canadians | Shriya Shah-Klorfine | 117 | 0.34 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 33,963 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 191 | 0.56 | ||||||
| Turnout | 34,154 | 40.50 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 84,330 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −11.69 | ||||||
| Source(s) Elections Ontario (2011). "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Mississauga East—Cooksville" (PDF). Retrieved 3 June 2014. | ||||||||