Doly Begum, the former New Democrat MPP for Scarborough Southwest who shocked the party when she defected to the federal Liberals, will now be heading to Ottawa after cruising to victory in Scarborough Southwest’s federal byelection Monday night.

Begum’s win keeps the riding Liberal following the departure of longtime MP Bill Blair, who stepped down to take a diplomatic post as Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

It also cinches a thin majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who in recent months has had a total of five MP’s — four of whom were Conservative — cross the floor to join his government.

Begum received nearly 70 per cent of the total vote, but only about a third of eligible voters actually voted in the byelection.

There were seven other candidates who ran. Among them, Conservative candidate Diana Filipova, a former middle school teacher who got just over 18 per cent of the vote, NDP candidate Fatima Shaban, a Salvation Army head office worker with six per cent of the vote, and Green candidate Pooja Malhotra, a medical copywriter who took 2.5 per cent of the vote.

Some notable faces were present at the banquet hall where Begum’s supporters gathered. They included Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, MP for Beaches-East York, MPP Andrea Hazell from neighbouring riding Scarborough-Guildwood, and Qadira Jackson, who previously ran against Begum as the provincial Liberal candidate for Scarborough Southwest.

Just two months ago, Begum was a provincial politician representing Scarborough Southwest as an NDP party member. When she was first elected in 2018, she was 29 and the youngest New Democrat among the party’s caucus. She was later named deputy party leader.

Her resignation to run in the federal byelection as a Liberal candidate surprised provincial party members, including leader Marit Stiles. It also elicited heavy criticism from the federal NDP.

Early life, education and career :

Doly Begum with her family members. Source: Supplied

Begum was born September 5, 1989 in the Moulvibazar District ( Sylhet Division )  of Bangladesh. She immigrated to Canada as a child with her family,and was raised in Scarborough, Ontario, attending W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute in the Clairlea neighbourhood of Toronto.Begum was married to Bangladeshi-Canadian lawyer Rizuan Rahman until his death from cancer in September 2024

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