Ranj Pillai
Ranj Pillai (born January 1974) is a Canadian politician, who has been the tenth premier of Yukon since January 14, 2023 and leader of the Yukon Liberal Party since January 9, 2023.
He represents the electoral district of Porter Creek South in the Legislative Assembly of Yukon, to which he was first elected in the 2016 election.
Ranj Pillai | |
|---|---|
.png) Pillai in 2022 | |
| 10th Premier of Yukon | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2023 | |
| Deputy | Jeanie McLean |
| Commissioner | Angélique Bernard |
| Preceded by | Sandy Silver |
| Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Sandy Silver |
| Deputy Premier Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources | |
| In office December 3, 2016 – January 14, 2023 | |
| Premier | Sandy Silver |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | Jeanie McLean (as Deputy Premier) John Streicker (as Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources) |
| Member of the Yukon Legislative Assembly for Porter Creek South | |
| Assumed office November 7, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Nixon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 1974 (age 50) Nova Scotia |
| Political party | Yukon Liberal Party |
| Residence | Whitehorse, Yukon |
Early life
Ranj was born in Nova Scotia. He grew up in Brook Village and Inverness before moving to Antigonish to complete his high school diploma. His father, Gopi (N.G.) Pillai, is a retired Indian-Malayali doctor in Inverness and his mother, Johnena Lee, is a retired nurse.
Career
Pillai sat as a Whitehorse City Councillor from 2009 to 2012. While on council, he helped bring Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada to Whitehorse and was awarded the 2011 Yukon Tourism Champion Award for his efforts.
On December 3, 2016, Pillai was sworn into the Cabinet of Premier Sandy Silver as Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, and Economic Development. He is also the Minister responsible for Yukon Development Corporation and the Yukon Energy Corporation.
Pillai was also the executive director of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and has held senior roles with Northern Vision Development and Yukon College.
On November 25, 2022, Pillai announced his candidacy for leader of the Yukon Liberal Party. He was acclaimed party leader in January 2023 because there were no other candidates in the race, thus becoming the premier–designate. He is the second Indo-Canadian to become premier of a province or territory, after Ujjal Dosanjh in British Columbia. He was sworn in as premier on January 14.
Personal life
Pillai is married and has two children.
Electoral record
| 2021 Yukon general election: Porter Creek South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Ranj Pillai | 309 | 47.17 | +0.6% | ||||
| Yukon Party | Chad Sjodin | 262 | 40 | +0.6% | ||||
| New Democratic | Colette Acheson | 84 | 12.82 | -1.3% | ||||
| Total valid votes | 655 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Eligible voters | ||||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -17.18 | ||||||
Yukon general election, 2016
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Ranj Pillai | 337 | 46.6% | +6.0% | |
| Yukon Party | Mike Nixon | 285 | 39.4% | -3.5% | |
| NDP | Shirley Chua-Tan | 102 | 14.1% | -2.4% | |
| Total | 724 | 100.0% | – | ||
Whitehorse municipal election, 2009
| Whitehorse municipal election, 2009 | ||
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Doug Graham | 2,678 | 13.1% |
| Ranj Pillai | 2,422 | 11.8% |
| Betty Irwin | 2,001 | 9.8% |
| Dave Stockdale | 1,986 | 9.7% |
| Florence Roberts | 1,794 | 8.8% |
| Dave Austin | 1,750 | 8.5% |
| Jeanine Myhre | 1,459 | 7.1% |
| Ron Swizdaryk | 1,450 | 7.1% |
| Graham Lang | 1,395 | 6.8% |
| Skeeter Miller-Wright | 1,370 | 6.7% |
| Janet Brault | 1,163 | 5.7% |
| Michael Buurman | 1,021 | 5.0% |
| Total | 20,475 | 100% |
References
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