Bhutila Karpoche, MPP for Parkdale–High Park in the Toronto area, was born in Nepal and moved to Parkdale, her constituency neighborhood, as a young adult with her family. Growing up she had always been interested in the health of people and their communities and like a true science nerd, pursued AP courses in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus while in high school. Upon moving to Canada, Bhutila completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of British Columbia, where her undergraduate experience both expanded and focused her interests in the field of public health. “I decided to specialize in Epidemiology, which emphasizes quantitative methods, but my training also included policy courses. I became increasingly attracted to the potency of policy and I chose electives that gave me opportunities to explore qualitative approaches, including doing specialized research through directed studies and joining the collaborative program in Global Health.” Bhutila completed her Master’s Degree in Public Health at the University of Toronto, and is currently rounding out her STEM background as a PhD candidate in public health policy at Ryerson University. She tells us, “I am passionate about public health because it allows me to weave the scientific and social components of the health of people and communities.”

The natural transition from STEM to politics

“When it comes to population health, social determinants such as income, housing, education, environment, etc., influence people’s health much more than individual behaviours like diet and exercise.”

Bhutila quickly recognized that people’s health conditions are shaped by the resources and opportunities they have, which meant that in order to make an impact, she would need to transition to politics where she could play a role in shaping policy and developing the push for an upstream approach to keep people and their communities healthy. In June 2018, Bhutila did just that, becoming the first person of Tibetan heritage to be elected to public office in North America. In addition, her background in public health has led her to serve as the Official Opposition’s Mental Health and Addictions critic and now the Official Opposition critic for Early Learning and Child Care in Ontario. She was recently elected as Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Policy at the Ontario Legislative Assembly.

Strength in political diversity

Bhutila believes that, “We are all better off when we have diverse representation among our elected representatives, and that extends to training/educational background.” She also recognizes that STEM and politics are often thought of as opposites and unrelated, when in fact the two are deeply intertwined. She notes that scientists should not shy away from politics and need to “Get involved!”, whether it be big or small, publicly or behind the scenes, locally, provincially, or nationally. She advises people with STEM backgrounds should dip their toes in the water where they feel most comfortable and take it from there. We need more people with a STEM background involved in politics and policy if we want to address some of the most pressing issues of our lifetime, such as climate change and pandemic preparedness and response. Bhutila notes that, “Although we’ve come a long way, politics continues to get in the way of bold action to address such crises,” and more science legitimacy and urgency at the forefront could be the answer we need.

To find out more about Bhutila and the work she’s doing in Parkdale – High Park, check out: https://www.bhutilakarpoche.ca/