Doly Begum

Doly Begum MPP (Bengali: ডলি বেগম) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.^[1] She represents the riding of Scarborough Southwest as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party. At 29, Doly Begum was the youngest New Democrat among the party's caucus^[2] and is the first Bangladeshi-Canadian to be elected to a legislative body in Canada.^[3]

Doly Begum MPP
Begum in 2023
Deputy Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office July 13, 2022 Serving with Sol Mamakwa
Leader	Peter Tabuns (interim) Marit Stiles
Preceded by	John Vanthof and Sara Singh
Critic, Immigration Services and International Credentials
Incumbent
Assumed office July 13, 2022
Leader	Peter Tabuns (interim) Marit Stiles
Critic, Early Learning and Childcare
In office August 23, 2018 – June 2, 2022
Leader	Andrea Horwath
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Scarborough Southwest
Incumbent
Assumed office June 7, 2018
Preceded by	Lorenzo Berardinetti
Personal details
Born	Moulvibazar District, Bangladesh
Political party	Ontario New Democratic
Residence(s)	Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Education	University of Toronto University College London
Website	www.dolybegum.ca

Early life

Begum was born in the Moulvibazar District of Bangladesh.^[4] She immigrated to Canada as a child with her family,^[5] and was raised in Scarborough, Ontario, attending W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute in the Clairlea neighbourhood of Toronto.^[6]

Thereafter, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in political science, and a Master of Arts in development, administration and planning from University College London. Prior to her candidacy, she was Co-Chair of the Scarborough Health Coalition, Vice-Chair of Warden Woods Community Centre, a research analyst at the Society of Energy Professionals, and was the chief coordinator of the province-wide Keep Hydro Public campaign.

Career

In the 2018 Ontario general election, Begum ran as the New Democratic candidate for the Scarborough Southwest riding. The riding has a large immigrant population, constituting 45% of the riding's population, with Bangladeshi Canadians accounting for 16%. She won the riding with 46% of the vote, defeating 15-year Liberal incumbent Lorenzo Berardinetti, becoming the first Bangladeshi Canadian to be elected to a legislative body in Canada.^[6]

As of August 11, 2024, she is the Official Opposition critic for Immigration Services and for International Credentials. Prior to that, she served as the Official Opposition Critic for Citizenship, Foreign Credentials and Immigration Services.^[7] Prior to that, she was the Deputy Opposition Whip from August 2019 to February 2021, the Critic for Early Learning and Childcare from August 2018 to February 2021 and a Member of the Standing Committee on Social Policy from July 2018 to October 2019. Her critic portfolio changed to Immigration Services, and International Credentials following the 2022 Ontario general election.

In 2020, Begum introduced a private member's bill that would mark June as Filipino Heritage Month.^[8] The bill passed its final reading and received Royal Assent on May 20, 2021, officially proclaiming June as Filipino Heritage Month in Ontario.^[9]

On July 13, 2022, Begum was named a Deputy Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, alongside Sol Mamakwa.^[10]

Election results

v t e 2025 Ontario general election: Scarborough Southwest
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Doly Begum	14,557	42.89	–4.79
	Progressive Conservative	Addie Dramola	10,400	30.65	+3.05
	Liberal	Qadira Jackson	7,786	22.94	+4.38
	Green	Mark Bekkering	1,194	3.52	–0.02
Total valid votes/expense limit			33,937	99.31	±0.00
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			235	0.69	±0.00
Turnout			34,172	41.96	–2.38
Eligible voters			81,434
	New Democratic hold		Swing		–3.92
Source: Elections Ontario[11]

v t e 2022 Ontario general election: Scarborough Southwest
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Doly Begum	16,842	47.68	+2.02	$103,194
	Progressive Conservative	Bret Snider	9,750	27.60	−3.62	$67,267
	Liberal	Lisa Patel	6,556	18.56	−0.38	$65,227
	Green	Cara Brideau	1,251	3.54	+0.84	$2,506
	New Blue	Peter Naus	383	1.08		$609
	Ontario Party	Barbara Everatt	320	0.91		$0
	None of the Above	James McNair	114	0.32	−0.19	$0
	Independent	Michelle Parsons	110	0.31		$0
Total valid votes/expense limit			35,326	99.31	+0.42	$112,311
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			247	0.69	−0.42
Turnout			35,573	44.34	−8.85
Eligible voters			79,624
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+2.82
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

v t e 2018 Ontario general election: Scarborough Southwest
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Doly Begum	19,835	45.66	+22.09
	Progressive Conservative	Gary Ellis	13,565	31.22	+10.25
	Liberal	Lorenzo Berardinetti	8,228	18.94	–30.99
	Green	David Del Grande	1,174	2.70	–1.37
	None of the Above	Allen Atkinson	222	0.51	N/A
	Libertarian	James Speirs	195	0.45	N/A
	Special Needs	Willie Little	160	0.37	N/A
	Trillium	Bobby Turley	64	0.15	N/A
Total valid votes			43,443	100.0
	New Democratic notional gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.92
Source: Elections Ontario[12]

Personal life

Begum was married to Bangladeshi-Canadian lawyer Rizuan Rahman until his death from cancer in September 2024.^[6][13]