Arpan Khanna (born July 9, 1990) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commons is ...

in a by-election on June 19, 2023. He represents

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as a member of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

. Previously, he was a lawyer.

Background

Khanna was born in to immigrants from

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

. He graduated from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

.https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-byelection-oxford-racist-conservatives-say-1.6884133 Khanna is a practicing lawyer. He and his family lived in Woodstock but now own a home in East Zorra Tavistock.

Career

During the

Harper government The premiership of Stephen Harper began on February 6, 2006, when the first Cabinet headed by Stephen Harper was sworn in by Governor General Michaelle Jean. Harper was invited to form the 28th Canadian Ministry and become Prime Minister of ...

, Khanna was a ministerial staffer for

Jason Kenney Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...

2019 federal election

Khanna unsuccessfully challenged

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

incumbent

Ruby Sahota Ruby Sahota (born June 22) is a Canadian Liberal politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal riding Brampton North during the 2015 Canadian federal election. Early life and educ ...

Brampton North Brampton North (french: Brampton-Nord) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It encompass portions of Ontario formerly included in the electoral districts of Brampton—Springdale, Bramalea—Gore—Malton and Brampton West. Br ...

. During the campaign, a 2010 tweet resurfaced in which Khanna used a homophobic slur. He apologized unequivocally for his remarks, noting he was a teenager at the time the comments were posted.

2022 leadership race

Khanna served as the Ontario co-chair for

Pierre Poilievre Pierre Marcel Poilievre ( ; born June 3, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022. Poilievre has served as a member of Parliament (MP) ...

's successful leadership bid. Subsequently, he became the national outreach chair for the Conservative Party.

2023 Oxford by-election

In 2023, Khanna decided to run for the Conservative Nomination for the Riding of Oxford to succeed then-Member of Parliament, Dave Mackenize. In February 2023, MacKenzie criticized Khanna for promoting a quote implying that Conservative leader,

endorsed him for the nomination and the party was supporting Khanna's candidacy. Mackenzie believed it a violation of the party nomination rules based on the Conservative's code of conduct. When another candidate, Gerrit Van Dorland backed by anti-abortion groups, was disqualified by the Conservatives, Khanna, disagreed with the decision on social media and asked the party to reverse the decision. In April 2023, Khanna defeated two other candidates such as Mackenize's daughter, Deb Tait, a

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

city-county councillor. Mackenize, who cited concerns in the leadership race announced his endorsement for local realtor, David Hilderley, who was the Liberal candidate. This led the Conservatives to deploy their entire caucus to campaign for Khanna. On June 19, Khanna was elected to the riding, defeating candidates such as Hilderley. After the race, operatives from the Conservatives, accused the Liberals of racism due to them emphasizing Hilderley local ties to riding while contrasting that Khanna was an outsider; the Liberals argued that the Conservatives were deflecting.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanna, Arpan Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian people of Indian descent Candidates in the 2019 Canadian federal election 1990 births