NDP appoints MPP Jagmeet Singh as deputy leader

TORONTO — The Ontario NDP has appointed MPP Jagmeet Singh as its new deputy leader.

It’s the first time in more than a decade Ontario’s NDP Caucus has had a deputy leader.

READ MORE: Ontario Liberals losing votes to NDP, PCs in the lead: poll

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Singh was elected in October 2011 in the riding of Bramalea — Gore — Malton, after a failed run for a federal seat earlier that year.

Singh’s appointment makes him the first turbaned Sikh to occupy a deputy leader position in Canada.

The 36-year-old is currently the NDP critic for the Attorney General and Government and Consumer Services.

Before heading to Queens Park, Singh was a criminal defense lawyer in the Brampton and Mississauga areas. He has garnered much attention, landing on the Toronto Star’s Top 12 people to watch for 2012 and in 2013 as a “rising star” on Toronto Life’s annual “Toronto’s 50 Most Influential People” list.