Thursday January 6, 2022 | BURNABY, BC [Updated January 9, 2022]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
“My world has only opened with the anticipation of our little one, and I’m excited to welcome him/her/them into the community we’ve built together,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wrote to NDP followers a few days ago.
Today the news broke that Singh and his wife Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu are welcoming a new addition to their family, a baby girl born Monday January 3.
Singh posted about the news on Instagram @jagmeetsingh and Twitter @theJagmeetSingh, saying both mom and baby are healthy and their “hearts are filled with gratitude.” In a 21st-century way, posting on Instagram is somehow more ‘personal’ than sending a news release to professional media.
A lifelong birthday gift:
Singh, 43, and Sidhu, 31, were married in February 2018. Singh’s birthday was the day before the birth, on January 2. He called his “powerful” little girl his birthday present for life. The baby’s original due date was December 29.
“A feeling like no other… introducing our baby girl,” said Gurkiran on Instagram on Monday. She is a fashion designer and co-founder of a “new age south Asian” clothing line, with her sister of Jangiiro.
Last summer at an outdoor event in Victoria on July 2, Singh was beaming about how cute the baby daughter of local MP Laurel Collins and her husband James McNish is. The excitement for parenthood was obviously in the cards!
Congratulations rolling in:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his congratulations on Twitter. “Such wonderful news – congratulations to you and your family! Sophie and I are wishing you all good health and many happy moments together,” he said.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole also congratulated the couple. “Congratulations! Wishing you all the very best as you both enter parenthood!” O’Toole said.
Island Social Trends has witnessed during news coverage the devotion and compassion that the NDP Leader has for people and the country and the excitement of the couple to be parents. We send our congratulations!
Baby names:
In BC each year the most popular baby names are announced, and the media usually covers news of the first birth of the year.
Jagmeet in Sikh/Punjabi means ‘friend of the world’ or ‘win the world’. Gurkiran means ‘ray of the Guru’s light’.
In Sikh tradition, a newborn is named around two weeks after their birth in a special ceremony called Naam Karan.
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