Bhutila Karpoche

Bhutila Karpoche
Karpoche in 2022
Official Opposition Critic for
GTA Issues
In office
July 13, 2022 – January 28, 2025
LeaderPeter Tabuns
Official Opposition Critic for
Early Childhood Development and Child Care
In office
February 2, 2021 – January 28, 2025
LeaderPeter Tabuns
Andrea Horwath
Deputy Opposition Whip
In office
August 23, 2018 – August 30, 2019
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Succeeded byDoly Begum
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Parkdale—High Park
In office
June 7, 2018 – January 28, 2025
Preceded byCheri DiNovo
Succeeded byAlexa Gilmour
Personal details
Born1983 or 1984 (age 42–43)[1]
Kathmandu, Nepal
PartyNDP (federal)
Ontario NDP (provincial)
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia (B.Sc.)
University of Toronto (M.P.H.)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • epidemiologist
Websitewww.bhutilakarpoche.ca

Bhutila Tenzin Karpoche[2] (/buːˈtɪlə ˌkɑːrpəˈtʃeɪ/ boo-TILL-ə KAR-pə-CHAY;[3] Tibetan: བུ་ཁྲིད་ལ་དཀར་པོ་ཆེས།, born 1983 or 1984) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Parkdale—High Park from 2018 to 2025, as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). Born in Nepal, Karpoche is the first person of Tibetan descent ever elected to public office in North America. She also served as Deputy Speaker of the Ontario Legislature from 2022-2025.

Early life and education

Karpoche was born in Nepal and is the second of four children.[4] Her name was chosen by the 14th Dalai Lama, whom she later met when she was 16, and means "Mother of 10,000 children."[4] All her parents and grandparents were Tibetan refugees who fled Tibet with the Dalai Lama after the 1959 Tibetan uprising and settled in Nepal.[4] In an interview, Karpoche said that she was born stateless despite her birth in Nepal and had no pathways to legalize her status there, as the Nepalese government systematically excludes Tibetans as refugees due to political reasons.[4]

In 2002, Karpoche, then 18, left Nepal with her entire family in haste amid the escalation of the Nepalese civil war, which saw large-scale fightings between Nepali forces and the Communist Party of Nepal in rural areas.[4] They joined their relatives and settled in the Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale, where Little Tibet is situated.[4][1][5]

Karpoche started her university education and attended University of British Columbia for her undergraduate studies, earning a bachelor of science degree.[4] She also holds a master of public health degree in epidemiology from the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and was a PhD candidate in public health policy at Toronto Metropolitan University, although she said in 2019 that she has put it "on hold."[6]

Karpoche's first language is Tibetan and she learned English while living in Nepal.[4] In addition, she also speaks Nepali and has taken lessons in Spanish and French.[4]

Political career

Prior to her election, Karpoche worked for Cheri DiNovo, her predecessor as MPP for Parkdale—High Park, first in DiNovo's constituency office and more recently as her executive assistant at Queen's Park.[7] She also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario, and on the steering committee of the International Tibet Network.[8]

In November 2024, she was nominated as the federal NDP candidate for Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park.[9]

Member of Provincial Parliament

On September 14, 2017, the Parkdale—High Park NDP riding association nominated Karpoche as the party's candidate in the 2018 general election.[10] She won the election on June 7, 2018, and her party won the second most seats, becoming the Official Opposition.

Following her election, NDP leader Andrea Horwath appointed Karpoche as deputy opposition whip and mental health and addictions critic. In a shadow cabinet shuffle on August 30, 2019, the deputy opposition whip was passed to Doly Begum.

In 2019, she was voted Toronto's Best Local Politician by Toronto Star readers.[11] She was voted Best MPP by Now Magazine readers in 2019, 2020 and 2021.[12][13][14] In 2023, she received the Parliamentarian Champion national award from Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) recognizing her work to advance the mental health agenda across the country. She is also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal 2012 and the King Charles III Coronation Medal 2025.

Karpoche was re-elected in the 2022 election with 53.97% of the popular vote.[15]

Following the selection of Interim Leader Peter Tabuns, Karpoche retained her critic portfolio of early childhood development and children, and was assigned the additional portfolio of GTA issues.[16] On July 15, 2022, it was announced that the Ontario NDP would be nominating Karpoche as a Deputy Speaker in the 43rd parliament.[17]

As of August 11, 2024, she serves as the Official Opposition's critic for Affordability and for GTA issues.

In September 2024, Karpoche announced she would not seek re-election in the 2025 Ontario general election so that she could run in the 2025 Canadian federal election in the federal constituency of Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park.[18]

Electoral record

2025 Canadian federal election: Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalKarim Bardeesy36,43955.80+13.01
New DemocraticBhutila Karpoche15,00322.97–15.43
ConservativeWladyslaw Lizon12,66219.40+6.07
GreenAnna Gorka7001.1–0.84
Animal ProtectionEdward Fraser1840.28N/A
CommunistRimmy Riarh1370.21N/A
MarijuanaTerry Parker960.15N/A
Marxist–LeninistLorne Gershuny920.14N/A
Total valid votes/expense limit 65,313
Total rejected ballots 299
Turnout 65,61271.30
Eligible voters 92,011
Liberal notional hold Swing +14.22
Source: Elections Canada[19]
2022 Ontario general election: Parkdale—High Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticBhutila Karpoche23,02453.97−5.44$114,469
LiberalKarim Bardeesy9,54722.38+5.38$118,634
Progressive ConservativeMonika Frejlich6,27014.70−3.31$12,433
GreenPatrick Macklem2,5876.06+1.40$2,663
New BlueDanielle Height5371.26 $0
Ontario PartyCraig Peskett3490.82 $0
CommunistGunes Agduk2210.52+0.27$0
People's Political PartyOliver Roberts1290.30 $0
Total valid votes/expense limit 42,66499.47+0.33$120,799
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 2280.53−0.33
Turnout 42,89250.25−12.18
Eligible voters 86,295
New Democratic hold Swing −5.41
Source(s)
"Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
"Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.
2018 Ontario general election: Parkdale—High Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticBhutila Karpoche32,40759.41+13.21
Progressive ConservativeAdam Pham9,82118.00+6.26
LiberalNadia Guerrera9,27117.00-20.42
GreenHalyna Zalucky2,5444.66+1.33
LibertarianMatthias Nunno3710.68+0.25
CommunistJay Watts1350.25
Turnout 54,54965.02+8.12
Eligible voters 83,879
New Democratic hold Swing +3.42
Source: Elections Ontario[20]

References

  1. 1 2 Kennedy, Brendan (June 7, 2018). "NDP's Bhutila Karpoche wins Parkdale-High Park, becoming first Tibetan ever elected to public office in North America". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  2. ↑ @ONPARLeducation (July 13, 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Live Conversation on Mutual Aid". Facebook. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Transcript: Bhutila Karpoche: Refugee to MPP". TVO. TVO. May 6, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ Paling, Emma (December 27, 2018). "Bhutila Karpoche, Ontario's 1st Tibetan MPP, Wants Ontario To Be A Place Where Immigrants Thrive". Huffington Post Canada. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  6. ↑ "About Bhutila". Bhutila Karpoche. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  7. ↑ "NDP politician Cheri DiNovo may be leaving politics, but her work on LGBT issues isn't over". Daily Xtra. September 20, 2017.
  8. ↑ "First Tibetan, Bhutila Karpoche Wins Election in Canada". Tibetan Journal. June 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park NDP (@tphpndp) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Canada Tibet Committee | Library | WTN". www.tibet.ca. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Readers' Choice". www.thestar.com. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Readers' Choice". NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Readers' Choice 2021: Toronto's best activists, politicians and public spaces". NOW Magazine. November 11, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Photos". embed-720475.secondstreetapp.com. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  15. ↑ Ontario, Elections (June 7, 2022). "Election Results". www.elections.on.ca. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Interim Official Opposition Leader Peter Tabuns names NDP deputy leaders, critics". Ontario NDP. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  17. ↑ "NDP puts forward history-making appointments for deputy speakers". Ontario NDP. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  18. ↑ Patel, Raisa (September 29, 2024). "Third NDP MPP hopes to swap Queens Park for Ottawa in the next federal election". Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ Gibbs, Wendy (May 1, 2025). "Validated Results - Taiaiako'n—Parkdale—High Park". Elections Canada. Ottawa: King's Printer For Canada. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 9. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
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