Editing Rahim Jaffer (section)

==Political career==
Jaffer was elected to the House of Commons as the [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for Edmonton—Strathcona in the [[1997 Canadian federal election|federal election on June 2, 1997]], at the age of 25. He won the seat as a member of the [[Reform Party of Canada]] (later the [[Canadian Alliance]], which later merged with the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]] to form the [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party]]). Jaffer was re-elected in 2000.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In 2001, Matthew Johnston, an aide to Jaffer, impersonated him during a radio interview that Jaffer was himself unable to attend. Jaffer subsequently apologized for the stunt in the House of Commons and was suspended from his caucus position for several months.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/jaffer-to-apologize-to-house-of-commons-1.254640|title=Jaffer to apologize to House of Commons|work=CBC News|date=19 March 2001|accessdate=2015-05-30}}</ref> The incident was parodied by ''[[This Hour Has 22 Minutes]]'', [[Rick Mercer]] performed a rap based on [[Eminem]]'s "[[The Real Slim Shady]]", with the lyrics "Will the real Rahim Jaffer please stand up?"{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 election]], Jaffer was re-elected to serve a fourth term as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton—Strathcona. On 8 February 2006, [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Stephen Harper]] named him [[caucus chair|chair of the Conservative caucus]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Roles – Rahim Jaffer – Current and Past – Members of Parliament – House of Commons of Canada|url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/rahim-jaffer(1347)/roles|website=www.ourcommons.ca|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref>

Jaffer lost his seat in the [[2008 Canadian federal election|2008 election]] after he was defeated by [[New Democratic Party|New Democrat]] [[Linda Duncan]]. Jaffer was initially reluctant to concede defeat but finally did so on 16 October after the results were officially validated by the riding returning officer.<ref name = CBC0810>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/jaffer-concedes-race-ties-the-knot-1.768034|title=Jaffer concedes race, ties the knot|work=CBC News|date=16 October 2008|accessdate=2015-05-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Obhrai wants free trade pact|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/obhrai-wants-free-trade-pact/story-A5OmRFz0fPNC4QD6CWjZ1L.html|date=2006-02-08|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref>

In 2009, Jaffer expressed interest in re-seeking the Conservative nomination for Edmonton—Strathcona at the next election. However, he declined to do so after it was claimed that he was shut out of nomination process.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jaffer shut out of nomination process in Edmonton riding|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/jaffer-shut-out-of-nomination-process-in-edmonton-riding-1.818555|accessdate=14 November 2011|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=16 May 2018}}</ref>

Jaffer was once voted "laziest MP" in an annual survey by ''[[The Hill Times]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=b3246771-571f-418c-b856-2f38850c080f|title=Strathcona race just what's needed to inspire maverick-style debate|work=Edmonton Journal|date=4 October 2008|accessdate=2015-05-30|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820035709/http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=b3246771-571f-418c-b856-2f38850c080f|archivedate=20 August 2015}}</ref>