Poilievre gives boost to Conservative candidate ahead of Oxford byelection

Arpan Khanna, Conservative Party nominee for a byelection in Oxford County, gets a boost from leader Pierre Poilievre in Woodstock, Ont. on Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was in Woodstock Saturday afternoon giving support to a local candidate.

Arpan Khanna will represent the Conservatives in an upcoming byelection in the riding of Oxford.

The byelection comes after long-time Conservative Member of Parliament Dave MacKenzie resigned in January.

However, the nomination process was rocky, with allegations that Poilievre and former leader Andrew Scheer were positioning Khanna to succeed. Two senior members of the party’s riding association resigned. Then MacKenzie said he would back a candidate vying for the Liberal nomination.

One of those bidding for the Conservative nomination was MacKenzie’s daughter, Deb Tait.

File photo of former Oxford MP Dave MacKenzie. MacKenzie resigned his seat in January and has since condemned the Conservative Party’s nomination process for the riding.Khanna is a Brampton lawyer and served as Ontario campaign co-chair during Poilievre's federal leadership bid. During the Saturday afternoon event, he was seated next to MPP Ernie Hardeman. The 75-year-old Hardeman is well-respected in conservative circles, having held the riding of Oxford, provincially, since 1995. Hardeman also introduced Khanna to the stage as the rally kicked off.

Poilievre made no mention of the turmoil in the riding during his 25-minute address to about 700 supporters at the Woodstock Fair auditorium.

He instead focused on issues geared to the riding; supporting farmers, removing gun control restrictions and lowering taxes.

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre addresses a gathering of about 700 people in the Woodstock Fair ground’s auditorium in Woodstock, Ont. on Saturday, May 6, 2023. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)He also stressed the need to reduce Canada’s dependency on foreign energy resources.

"Why are we giving our money away to foreign, dirty dictatorships? Why don't we repeal Trudeau's anti-energy laws and build Canadian pipelines, with Canadian steel to bring Canadian energy to Canadian markets,” he said. “Bring it home. Bring it home to Canada. Bring it home."

A date for the byelection has not been set but it must be called before July 29.