Deepak Obhrai

Deepak Obhrai was born in Tanzania and attended school in three separate continents: in Tanzania, India and the United Kingdom. He graduated as an Air Traffic Controller in the UK and worked at several airports in East Africa. After immigrating to Canada in 1977, Deepak worked in the accounting department for the City of Calgary before becoming sel... f-employed. He and his wife Neena became owners of a chain of dry-cleaning stores and also formed a company to explore joint venture opportunities in overseas markets. In Canada, Deepak became heavily involved in his community, acting as President of the India - Canada Association, Monterey Community Association and the Hindu Society of Calgary. He was also Vice-President of the National Indo-Canadian Council. Deepak was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Calgary East in 1997. Subsequently he played key roles in the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, the Progressive Conservative Party and in the making of the new Conservative Party of Canada, during which time he was a strong supporter of Stephen Harper's leadership campaign. He was re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2008; successively receiving a larger percentage of the popular vote. In the most recent election held in May 2011, Deepak was re-elected with 67.4% majority. After the Conservative Party won the general election in January 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Deepak as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In March 2008, Deepak was vested with the additional responsibility of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation. In the current Parliament, Deepak serves as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Deepak was the founder president of the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, which today enjoys a large membership of MPs and Senators from all political parties. Through this group, Deepak initiated many activities leading to further strengthening of Canada's relations with India. For the past nine years, ...Read More