Malhi is notable for being the first turban-wearing Sikh to be elected to the House of Commons of Canada, or any national legislature in the western world.
Prior to 1993, Canadian law prohibited members of Parliament from wearing headgear of any sort in the House of Commons.
From 2003 to 2004, Malhi served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry with special emphasis on Entrepreneurs and New Canadians.
In 2004 he was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and he served in this capacity until 2005.
[2] In a House of Commons debate, he encouraged MPs to vote to maintain the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman "in keeping with the natural law and in conformity with God's design for the world" and downplayed discrimination against same-sex couples, stating that "just because differences exist in society, it does not mean that inequality and discrimination exist.”[3] In the 2011 federal election, the Liberal Party won the fewest seats in its history.