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[Photo Credit : Ppereira6, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, background changed]
He arrived in Vancouver at age five, an immigrant from Punjab whose parents were starting over in a new country. He learned English, worked odd jobs, and watched his parents model service and grit. Years later, that kid would wear three uniforms: soldier, police detective, and Cabinet minister. CSE Canada
✨ A Spark Becomes a Calling
First came the British Columbia Regiment (reserve army) and tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan; then an 11-year stint with the Vancouver Police Department’s gang unit. The thread through it all: protecting people. In 2015, voters in Vancouver South sent him to Parliament—and the Prime Minister tapped him as Minister of National Defence. The Canadian Encyclopedia
“Service isn’t a title—it’s work you do every day.”
He later served as Minister of International Development and then as President of the King’s Privy Council / Minister of Emergency Preparedness, widening that service lens from the battlefield to humanitarian aid and civil protection. (Portfolios have shifted over time—always check current roles when you publish.) Wikipedia
❤️ Building More Than a Résumé
Sajjan’s reputation was forged in hard places—Kandahar liaison work, gang-crime investigations—and then tested in Ottawa, managing defence files and humanitarian crises. The lesson for newcomers: skills compound. What you learn in one uniform can elevate the work you do in the next. NATO PA
🌍 Why His Story Inspires
- Immigrant beginnings → national leadership. From South Vancouver classrooms to the Cabinet table. CSE Canada+1
- Service that scales. Local policing, international deployments, national portfolios. The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Proof that context travels. Field discipline and community instincts translate to policy.
