Indian-origin Ranj Pillai to be sworn in as Yukon’s Premier

After serving in the Yukon legislature since 2016, Indian-origin Ranj Pillai is all set to take the oath as the territory’s 10th premier after being named the liberal party leader on Sunday.

The swearing-in of Pillai will mark the second Indian-origin lawmaker to take up office as the Premier of a Canadian province after Ujjal Dosanjh, who was the premier of British Columbia between 2000-2001.

Pillai will take the place of Sandy Silver, in whose government Pillai previously worked as a deputy.

Sharing the news on Twitter, Pillai stated, “This morning alongside my family, I met with the Honourable Angélique Bernard, Commissioner of the Yukon to share my intention to serve as the 10th Premier of the Yukon.”

“I am honoured and humbled to be acclaimed as the leader of the Yukon Liberal Party. We have so much to be proud of and I’m very excited for what the future of the Yukon holds,” Pillai’s campaign statement read.

“I look forward to serving all Yukoners as our dedicated team continues to make this territory one of the best places to call home,” the Indian-origin lawmaker added.

Having family roots in Kerela, Pillai was born and raised in the province of Nova Scotia. He then settled in Yukon where he started his political career as a municipal councillor in 2009. Pillai has been serving in Silver’s cabinet since November 2016, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as MLA for Porter Creek South.

Pillai had previously talked about India-Yukon work relations, tweeting back in December after meeting India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, “There are many opportunities for the Yukon and India to work together including Post-secondary connections to the hospitality industry; labour force recruitment for the tourism and health care industries; critical mineral development and the start-up and technology sector.”

Pillai had also taken part in the Indian Consulate’s ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas’ in Vancouver last year.