She will be the first Indo-Canadian to be appointed to the post
Niki Sharma has been promoted to BC Deputy Premier, becoming the first Indo-Canadian to hold the post.
This continues a streak of historic appointments for Sharma – she was also the first woman of colour to become BC attorney-general in December 2022. According to a government annoucement, she will retain her attorney-general portfolio while acting as deputy premier.
Sharma started off her legal career with a focus on Aboriginal law and has acted for clients before the Supreme Court of Canada, the BC Court of Appeal, the BC Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Canada, the BC Human Rights Commission and Residential School Adjudications. During a stint as lawyer with Donovan & Company from 2005 to 2017, she primarily tackled Aboriginal rights and title, negotiations with proponents, First Nations governance, environmental conservation and residential school claims.
She managed the legal support and advocacy program at the Battered Women’s Support Services in Vancouver from May to September 2017 and was a member of the board from 2009 to April 2017. She was also a lawyer and senior campaigner for Stand.earth in 2020.
Sharma became Vancouver-Hastings Member of the Legislative Assembly in November 2020 and was also named parliamentary secretary for community development and non-profits.
As attorney-general, Sharma is a key figure in the introduction of Bill 21, the Legal Professions Act, which was announced earlier this year. The bill seeks to integrate the Law Society of BC with the regulators for notaries public and paralegals; it also aims to modernize lawyer regulation and improve access to justice.
Sharma is one of eight Indo-Canadians to hold significant positions in the new provincial cabinet, as announced by BC Premier David Eby. Ravi Parmar is the minister for forests, Jagrup Brar the minister for mining and critical minerals, Ravi Kahlon the minister for housing and municipal affairs, Jessie Sunner the parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives, Harwinder Sandhu the parliamentary secretary for agriculture, and Sunita Dhir the parliamentary secretary for international credentials. Meanwhile, Raj Chauhan is expected to remain speaker of the provincial legislature.
