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Arpan Khanna

Arpan Khanna
MP
Khanna in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Oxford
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 19, 2023
Preceded byDave MacKenzie
Personal details
Born (1990-07-09) July 9, 1990 (age 34)
Brampton, Ontario
Political partyConservative
Residence(s)Woodstock, Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
ProfessionLawyer

Arpan Khanna MP (born July 9, 1990)[1][2] is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election on June 19, 2023. He represents Oxford as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.[3] Previously, he was a lawyer.[4]

Background

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Khanna was born in Brampton Ontario to immigrants from Punjab, India.[5][6] He graduated from the University of Western Ontario.[7] Khanna is a practicing lawyer.[4] Until January 2024, Khanna sat on the board of governors of the Robert Land Academy, a private boarding school.[8]

In 2022, he and his family moved to Woodstock.[9]

Career

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During the Harper government, Khanna was a ministerial staffer for Jason Kenney.[4] He was also an outreach staffer to Tim Hudak.[10]

In 2023, Khanna was named 12 to watch on Canada's rapidly rising right by the National Post and in 2024 he was named one of the Top 25 most influential Conservatives in federal politics by the Hill Times.

2019 federal election

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Main article: 2019 Canadian federal election

Khanna unsuccessfully challenged Liberal incumbent Ruby Sahota in Brampton North.[11] 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.[12]

2022 leadership race

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Main article: 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election

Khanna served as the Ontario co-chair for Pierre Poilievre's successful leadership bid.[13] Subsequently, he became the national outreach chair for the Conservative Party.[4]

2023 Oxford by-election

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Main article: 2023 Oxford federal 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.[4] In February 2023, MacKenzie criticized Khanna for promoting a quote implying that Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre 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.[14][15] 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.[16] In April 2023, Khanna defeated two other candidates such as Mackenize's daughter, Deb Tait, a Woodstock city-county councillor.[17] In January 19, 2024, it was reported that Canadian Security Intelligence Service was probing the nomination race due to reports that the Government of India interfered in favour of Khanna.[18][19]

Mackenize, who cited concerns in the leadership race announced his endorsement for local realtor, David Hilderley, who was the Liberal candidate.[20] This led the Conservatives to deploy their entire caucus to campaign for Khanna.[21] On June 19, Khanna was elected to the riding, defeating candidates such as Hilderley.[11] 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.[7]

Electoral record

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Canadian federal by-election, June 19, 2023: Oxford
Resignation of Dave MacKenzie
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Arpan Khanna 16,688 42.92 -4.13
Liberal David Hilderley 14,164 36.43 +15.90
New Democratic Cody Groat 4,053 10.42 -7.86
Christian Heritage John Markus 1,672 4.30 +3.53
People's Wendy Martin 1,278 3.29 -7.36
Green Cheryle Baker 854 2.20 -0.52
Independent John The Engineer Turmel 171 0.44
Total valid votes 38,880 99.38
Total rejected ballots 243 0.62 +0.01
Turnout 39,123 39.81 -25.08
Eligible voters 98,270
Conservative hold Swing -10.01
Source: Elections Canada[22]
2019 Canadian federal election: Brampton North
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ruby Sahota 25,970 51.42 +3.05 $76,162.12
Conservative Arpan Khanna 13,973 27.67 -5.32 $100,060.30
New Democratic Melissa Edwards 8,382 16.90 +0.40 $17,829.85
Green Norbert D'Costa 1,516 3.00 +1.10 $0.00
People's Keith Frazer 510 1.01 – none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 50,502 99.03
Total rejected ballots 496 0.97
Turnout 50,998 65.19
Eligible voters 78,229
Liberal hold Swing +4.11
Source: Elections Canada[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190731172823/https://twitter.com/ArpanKhanna/status/1148009332627464194
  2. ^ "In Ontario's 905 region, parties try to swing suburbia to their side". The Globe and Mail. 30 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Liberals, Conservatives take 2 seats apiece in 4 federal byelections". CBC News. June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e Rana, Abbas (January 9, 2023). "Conservative Party's outreach chair Khanna to duke it out with Conservative MP MacKenzie's daughter Tait and former senior ministerial staffer Roth in the coveted riding of Oxford, Ont., nomination" (PDF). The Hill Times. p. 4.
  5. ^ Bramptonist (2019-10-06). "FEDERAL ELECTION: Who's Running in Brampton North". Bramptonist. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  6. ^ "Conservative Party Candidate Profile: Arpan Khanna". 104.7 Heart FM. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  7. ^ a b https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-byelection-oxford-racist-conservatives-say-1.6884133
  8. ^ Vasey, Nick-Taylor (August 21, 2024). "Dog days in the fish bowl".
  9. ^ Calvi, Leon (June 23, 2023). "Q+A: Oxford MP-elect Arpan Khanna on unexpectedly tight win". Simcoe Reformer.
  10. ^ Vasey, Nick-Taylor (December 13, 2022). "A death in the family".
  11. ^ a b "Conservatives hang on to federal Oxford riding with Khanna edging Hilderley | Globalnews.ca". 980 CFPL. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  12. ^ Blackwell, Tom (September 13, 2019). "Conservative candidate apologizes 'unequivocally' for allegedly homophobic comments on Twitter". National Post. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  13. ^ "Top 25 most influential Conservatives in federal politics". The Hill Times. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  14. ^ "'It pains me to do this': former Tory MP MacKenzie blasts Poilievre and Scheer for favouring Oxford, Ont., nomination candidate". The Hill Times. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  15. ^ "Election meddling top of mind in Tory nomination race facing membership fraud complaints". The Hill Times. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  16. ^ "Conservatives defend ousting Ontario candidate amid anger from anti-abortion group". Global News. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  17. ^ "'Hijacked': Riding officials quit after heated Conservative nomination fight". lfpress. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  18. ^ Kheiridden, Tasha (Oct 17, 2024). "Tasha Kheiriddin: Trudeau's interference allegations a dramatic act of self-preservation". National Post.
  19. ^ PressProgress (2024-01-19). "CSIS Investigating Southwestern Ontario Conservative Nomination Vote, Conservative Sources Say". PressProgress. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  20. ^ "Former Ontario Tory MP backing Liberal in byelection in riding". The Globe and Mail. 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  21. ^ "Pierre Poilievre has a likability challenge. Here's what Conservative insiders say he should do about it — and where he's going wrong". thestar.com. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  22. ^ "June 19, 2023, by-elections—Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  23. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  24. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.