| Arpan Khanna | |
| Riding1: | Oxford |
| Parliament1: | Canadian |
| Term Start1: | June 19, 2023 |
| Predecessor1: | Dave MacKenzie |
| Birth Date: | 9 July 1990 |
| Party: | Conservative |
| Alma Mater: | University of Western Ontario |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Residence: | Woodstock, Ontario |
| Birth Place: | Brampton, Ontario |
Arpan Khanna (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.
Khanna was born in Brampton Ontario to immigrants from Punjab, India.[4] [5] He graduated from the University of Western Ontario.[6] Khanna is a practicing lawyer.[7] 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]
During the Harper government, Khanna was a ministerial staffer for Jason Kenney. He was also an outreach staffer to Tim Hudak.[10]
See 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]
See 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.
See 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. 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. 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.