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Above: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ‘Prime Minister For A Day‘, Prabjote Singh.

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Canada’s ‘Prime Minister For A Day’:
Brampton’s Prabjote Singh

GUR KIRPAL SINGH ASHK

 

 

 





Back home after being 'Prime Minister for a day', Sikh-Canadian teen from Brampton, Ontario, Prabjote (“PJ”) Singh Lakhanpal pinched himself to see if it was true.

''It was amazing to go to Parliament Hill in Ottawa as prime minister for a day. No one in any other country can even envisage something like this. I never expected all this even in my wildest dreams," he says excitedly.

Talking over phone from his home in Brampton, cancer survivor Prabjote says, "I want to pursue law at Osgood Hall Law School. My ultimate goal is to be a politician, my nation’s leader, so that I may serve the people in a better way."

He adds that he is thankful to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada which made his dream come true. "You know, I've battled cancer. There's nothing worse than that. So, I'm ready to take this on in the future," he said.

Prabjote’s parents and grandparents had migrated from Punjab to Canada from the small town of Mandi Ahmedgarh. His father Surinder Mohan Singh came to Canada in 1988 and now runs an auto mechanic shop.

This moment of happiness has come Prabjote’s and his family’s way after three anxiety-ridden years after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of cancer affecting the body's immune system. About two and a half years ago, when he was in the hospital, the Make-A-Wish Foundation that grants wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, made him a candidate for the foundation.

Surinder says that after they were informed that Prabjote’s wish had been granted, he along with his wife and daughter accompanied him to Ontario. When they disembarked at the Ottawa Airport at 6.30 pm, officers of the RCMP as well  office-earers of Make-A-Wish Foundation welcomed them.

"In a convoy, they took us to the Chateau Laurier Hotel near Parliament Hill where Prabjote stayed in the presidential suite while we stayed in another room."

Surinder explained: "Next day Prabjote was welcomed by the 28th Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, who heard the young man‘s vision for the country."

During the visit, the Governor General also tweeted, "I was pleased to have Prime Minister 'PJ' @RideauHall. A leader in our nation. #pjspmwish."

Back in his parents‘ former hometown in Punjab, Mandi Ahmedgarh, no one knew that newsmaker Prabjote had a connection to the town. His uncle Balvir Singh, who has a repair shop near the bus stand said, "Our family came to know from a relative that Prabjote was 'PM of Canada for a day."


[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]
March 1, 2016
 

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Brampton’s Prabjote Singh"









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