Bhutila Karpoche became the first Tibetan to be elected to a public office in North America. On 7 June 2018, Bhutila of New Democratic Party (NDP) won the election from the Parkdale-High Park by a wide margin. Bhutia, 34, settled in Toronto, Canada from Nepal at the age of 18 and she is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Health from Ryerson University, Toronto.

Tibetans in Canada as well as around the diaspora were abuzz on social media to celebrate the milestone.

Dr. Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) sent his congratulatory message to Bhutila via Tibet.net, the official website of the CTA. Dr. Sangay wrote, “We congratulate Bhutila Karpoche and wish her success. As a Tibetan, it is a moment of great pride for all of us and hopes that we will see more of such persons of Tibetan origin holding public offices in their respective countries. This is also a part of the vision of the Central Tibetan Administration.”

While addressing a gathering at a restaurant in Queen St. W after her victory, Bhutila thanked her family, parents, in-laws, and everybody that supported her during the election. She also acknowledged the support of the Tibetan community in Toronto and said, “I want to give a special shout-out to the Tibetan community. We made history tonight!” Parkdale-High Park is a provincial electoral district in Toronto and is home to a large number of Tibetan immigrants.

She succeeded from Cheri DiNovo with whom she worked for the interest of community at Queens Park. Earlier, she has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario.

This unprecedented victory was made possible by her exceptional leadership quality and support of the Tibetans in Toronto.

Below are some reactions observed among the netizens to her landslide victory: