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Amir Khadir (; born June 12, 1961) is a Canadian politician in the province of Quebec. A member of Québec solidaire (QS), he was one of the party's co-spokespeople from 2006 to 2012, alongside Françoise David. From 2008 to 2018, he was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the electoral district of Mercier. Khadir was the first elected representative of QS.
He studied physics at the undergraduate level at Université de Montréal and subsequently at the graduate level at McGill University. He then studied medicine at Université Laval.
Khadir worked with the Yes side in the 1980 Quebec sovereignty referendum.
A medical specialist in infectious microbiology, he practiced at the Centre Hospitalier Pierre-Le-Gardeur in Lachenaie, Quebec, a section of the city of Terrebonne, Quebec. Khadir is a member of the Coalition des Médecins pour la Justice Sociale (Coalition of Doctors for Social Justice), which opposes the privatization of the Quebec healthcare system. He has led missions to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories for Médecins du Monde. Until 2004, he presided over the administrative council of .
Khadir is married to Nimâ Machouf. They have three children named Daria, Yalda, and Leyli. During the 2012 Quebec student protests, Yalda was arrested for blocking the Jacques Cartier Bridge, occupying the Cégep du Vieux-Montréal, and vandalizing then minister of education Line Beauchamp's office. She pleaded guilty in 2014 and, in 2015, was sentenced to a conditional discharge including 240 hours of community service.
In 2006, the UFP merged with Option citoyenne, led by Françoise David, to form Québec solidaire (QS). At the founding convention, Khadir was named one of two co-spokespeople alongside David.
Khadir again ran for the seat of Mercier in the 2007 election, now as a member of QS, placing second with 29% of the vote. In 2008, Khadir won the seat with 38% of the vote and became the first Québec solidaire candidate elected. During that campaign, Khadir received the endorsement of Robert Perreault, a former Parti québécois cabinet member who represented Mercier from 1994 to 2000.
As the only elected member of QS, he became its most prominent member. A poll conducted for the newspapers Le Devoir and The Gazette in early December 2010 found that Khadir was the most popular politician in Quebec, with an approved rating of 45%.
Khadir continued as co-spokesperson through the 2012 election which saw the election of a second QS MNA, Françoise David, in Gouin. Shortly after the election, Khadir stepped down as co-spokesperson to allow the party to choose a new male co-spokesperson from outside the legislature in accordance with party statutes. "It's the logical next step. First, for a party that considers itself feminist, it would be fairly contradictory to finally have a female deputy of Françoise's quality in the National Assembly and not have her be the spokesperson," Khadir said.
Khadir did not run for re-election in the 2018 general election.
On February 9, 2011, a motion was brought forward in the Quebec National Assembly to condemn the boycott of Le Marcheur. Khadir was the sole MNA to vote against it and prevent its from being debated (unanimity is required for such a motion to go to debate). Several members of the National Assembly's other three parties: François Bonnardel of the Action Démocratique du Québec, the Parti Québécois's Martin Lemay and the Liberal party's Lawrence Bergman subsequently visited the store to show their support and demonstrate their opposition to the boycott.
Khadir later defended his support for boycotts of Israeli products but insisted there had been a "terrible misunderstanding" between himself and Archambault. Khadir denied asking people not to enter the store but stated that he only informed customers about the boycott. Khadir also stated that he now regrets taking part and wanted people to boycott the products, not the merchant.
Earlier, in the federal election of 2000, Khadir ran as a Bloc Québécois candidate in the riding of Outremont. He received 28% of the vote and finished second against Liberal incumbent Martin Cauchon.
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