Dr. Rey Pagtakhan of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was the first and only Filipino ever elected to the Parliament of Canada. (Photo: National Post)
Toronto, Ontario
Hindi pa rin nakalusot ang Pinoy sa Ontario
By Ted Alcuitas
Ontario has again failed to elect a Filipino-Canadian in the latest provincial election election held on June 7, putting the province where the largest concentration of Filipinos reside, behind Manitoba and British Columbia.
Manitoba, the first province to elect a Filipino to Parliament and the provincial legislature, has currently three MLAs, a city councillor and several school board members.
B.C. has one member of the provincial legislature – NDP MLA Mable Elmore.
The best hope for Ontario to win, Nerissa Carino of the NDP who run in Pickering-Uxbridge, came a close second to the Conservatives.
The other four candidates trailed badly behind their opponents.
Observers believed that had there been a Filipino candidate in the Mississauga Centreriding, it could have elected the first Filipino MLA. Unfortunately, a change in the leadership from Patrick Brown resulted in the hopefuls to be replaced.