Salma Zahid

Salma Zahid MP (born May 26, 1970) is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal riding of Scarborough Centre during the 2015 Canadian federal election. She succeeded the Conservative Roxanne James.^[2]

Salma Zahid MP
Image of Salma Zahid delivering victory speech on election night October 19, 2015
Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East Scarborough Centre (2015–2025)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Roxanne James
Personal details
Born	(1970-05-26) May 26, 1970 (age 55) Coventry, England, UK
Citizenship	Canada Pakistan UK
Party	Liberal
Residence(s)	South Cedarbrae,[1] Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater	University of London Quaid-i-Azam University
Awards	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Early life and career

Zahid was born in Coventry, England. She holds a master's degree in educational management and administration from the University of London’s Institute of Education, and an MBA from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan. She is a Pakistani Canadian, mother of two, and has resided in Scarborough since 2000. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Zahid was a community organizer and worked for the Government of Ontario in multiple positions before running in the election.

Politics

Zahid was elected in the 2015 Canadian federal election as a Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre (federal electoral district). While in the 42nd Parliament, Zahid had the role of Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, where she was a spokesperson for racialized women.^[3]

In February 2018, Zahid announced that she was taking medical leave to treat her Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This was used by the Scarborough Centre Conservative Party of Canada Riding Association Vice President to sell memberships via robocall.^[4] While recovering from chemotherapy treatment, Zahid wore a hijab for personal reasons, saying that she had grown closer to her Islamic faith while facing cancer. In May 2018, she became the first MP to wear a hijab in the House of Commons.^[5] Zahid received some negative reactions to the hijab, to which she responded by highlighting the personal nature of her decision.^[5] In July 2018, after completing six rounds of chemotherapy, Zahid was cancer-free and returned to her job.^[4]

Zahid was re-nominated to run in Scarborough Centre for the Liberals in the 2019 Canadian federal election.^[4]

Zahid received criticism in November 2022 when she attended a 'solidarity' event with a publisher of Holocaust denialism.^[6][7][8] She has also received criticism for her position on the Gaza war, which stepped out of long standing tradition of Canadian and Liberal Party MPs political support for the State of Israel.^[9][10][11] In January 2024, Zahid called on her colleagues in the House of Commons to support South Africa's application to prosecute Israel for genocide.^[12]

Election results

v t e 2025 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East
** Preliminary results — Not yet official **
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Salma Zahid	27,539	57.21	+0.89
	Conservative	Belent Mathew	18,353	38.13	+12.81
	New Democratic	Alyson Koa	1,583	3.29	–10.46
	People's	Peter Koubakis	660	1.37	–2.89
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			48,135	61.93
Eligible voters			77,727
	Liberal notional hold		Swing		–5.96
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]

2021 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Salma Zahid	23,128	57.6	+2.3	$104,544.73
	Conservative	Malcolm Ponnayan	9,819	24.4	+2.1	$35,013.30
	New Democratic	Faiz Kamal	5,479	13.6	+1.9	$8,952.20
	People's	Petru Rozoveanu	1,472	3.7	+1.2	$0.00
	National Citizens Alliance	Aylwin T. Mathew	263	0.7	N/A	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			40,161	99.0	–	$108,279.65
Total rejected ballots			425	1.0
Turnout			40,586	54.8
Eligible voters			74,078
	Liberal hold		Swing		+0.1
Source: Elections Canada[15]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Salma Zahid	25,695	55.3	+4.80	$100,475.79
	Conservative	Irshad Chaudhry	10,387	22.3	-10.40	$88,298.94
	New Democratic	Faiz Kamal	5,452	11.7	+0.10	$11,622.00
	Independent	John Cannis	2,524	5.4		$49,981.60
	Green	Dordana Hakimzadah	1,336	2.9	+0.80	none listed
	People's	Jeremiah Vijeyaratnam	1,162	2.5		none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			46,556	100.0
Total rejected ballots			638
Turnout			47,194	62.4
Eligible voters			75,662
	Liberal hold		Swing		+7.60
Source: Elections Canada[16][17]

v t e 2015 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Salma Zahid	22,753	50.5	+18.61	$111,259.09
	Conservative	Roxanne James	14,705	32.7	-2.18	$96,481.13
	New Democratic	Alex Wilson	5,227	11.6	-19.06	$24,264.68
	Libertarian	Katerina Androutsos	1,384	3.1		$1,452.03
	Green	Lindsay Thompson	960	2.1	-0.47	$1,627.92
Total valid votes/expense limit			45,029	100.00	+22.33	$203,985.80
Total rejected ballots			407	0.90	+0.33
Turnout			45,436	64.36	+10.02
Eligible voters			70,594		+0.46
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+10.39%
Source(s) "Election Night Results (Validated by Returning Officer)". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 2, 2015. "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates".