Moe Sihota
Munmohan Singh "Moe" Sihota is a Canadian broadcaster and former politician.
He was born in Duncan, British Columbia in 1955 and attended St. George's Boys School, Vancouver, on scholarship. He obtained a bachelor of social work from the University of British Columbia in 1977, was awarded a scholarship to Warwick School of Economics, London, 1981 and a bachelor of laws from the University of Victoria in 1982. He was a social worker in White Rock in 1978-79 and practised law in Esquimalt in 1984.
His political career began during his undergraduate years at UBC:
- Ombudsman, UBC (1975).
- Vice president, UBC, Board of Governors (1977).
- President, Young New Democrats (1978).
- President, Federal Riding of Cowichan/Malahat/The Islands
(1981-84).
- Successfully managed election companies for Frank Mitchell (1983)
and Jim Manly (1984).
- Alderman, Esquimalt (1984)
- elected M.L.A. for Esquimalt/Port Renfrew (1986).
- The first Indo-Canadian to be elected to any federal or provincial riding and the first cabinet minister in a province of Canada.
He served in several cabinet posts under the New Democratic governments of Mike Harcourt, Glen Clark and Ujjal Dosanjh, but was forced to resign from cabinet several times due to scandal.
In 1998, he resigned for making a phone call to the Motor Carrier Commission, a quasi-judicial body, on behalf of a friend who was seeking a limousine licence.
Following the NDP's massive defeat in the 2001 provincial election, Sihota became a television host for The New VI (now A-Channel) in Victoria. He was let go from the station in 2004 when his phone-in show, VILand Voices, was cancelled due to budget cuts.
