was among 32 Liberal Party backbenchers who voted against the Civil Marriage Act, despite the Liberal government being officially in favour of its adoption. In a House of Commons debate, he encouraged MPs to vote to maintain the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman "in keeping with the natural law and in conformity with God's design for the world" and downplayed discrimination against same-sex couples, stating that "just because differences exist in society, it does not mean that inequality and discrimination exist". In the 2011 federal election, the Liberal Party won the fewest seats in its history. Falling to third place, Malhi was defeated by Conservative Bal Gosal. Jagmeet Singh, the future leader of the NDP, finished in second. Like Malhi, Singh would be a trend-setter for Canadian Sikhs when he became the first turban-wearing, visible minority party leader in 2017. During the 2014 Ontario general election, he campaigned for his daughter Harinder Malhi, who contested and won the seat for Brampton—Springdale for the Ontario Liberal Party, becoming a Member of Provincial Parliament in the 41st Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Electoral record Bramalea—Gore—Malton Source: Elections Canada Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election. Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale Note: Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election. Bramalea—Gore—Malton Note that all electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. References External links Living people 1949 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian politicians of Indian descent Canadian politicians of Punjabi descent Canadian Sikhs Indian emigrants to Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Panjab University alumni People from Punjab, India Politicians from Brampton Punjabi people