Conservatives hang on to federal Oxford riding with Khanna edging Hilderley

After a closely contested race that divided a rural southwestern Ontario riding, Conservative Party candidate Arpan Khanna has been declared the unofficial winner.

According to Elections Canada, with 220 of 267 polls accounted for at 1 a.m., Khanna garnered 42.4 per cent of the vote, with second place Liberal Party candidate David Hilderley receiving 36.7 per cent.

Speaking at the Woodstock Agriculture Hall after midnight, Khanna thanked his campaign staff, supporters and family to the cheering applause of the crowd.

Speaking for roughly five minutes to the excited crowd, Khanna said he could not wait to get to work as the MP for Oxford in Ottawa.

“For that single parent that has to choose between milk and cereal, for that farmer who is putting food on tables but is having trouble with his own table… we hear you and I’ll fight for you every single day,” said Khanna.

The byelection in Oxford was one of four held across Canada Monday, with the one in Quebec and the other two in Manitoba.

While the Conservative Party was able to hang on to a seat it has held since 2004, it was not without controversy in the riding that includes the communities of Woodstock and Ingersoll.

Oxford’s outgoing MP – Dave MacKenzie, who announced he was stepping down from the seat in December – called the race “the nastiest campaign that we’ve ever seen in our riding.”

“It’s divided our party and our community,” he said in an interview.

MacKenzie won in the 2021 federal election with nearly 47 per cent of the vote, a 27-point margin over the Liberal candidate.

But his surprise endorsement of Hilderley, a retired school teacher and principal whom he calls “an honest guy,” turned heads.

The issue at hand was MacKenzie and Hilderley’s assertion that Khanna, a lawyer, was a parachute candidate brought in through meddling by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and House Leader Andrew Scheer.

Khanna helped Poilievre’s campaign in Ontario during the leadership campaign and ran as a candidate for Scheer in a Brampton riding in 2019.

MacKenzie said Khanna’s nomination has led to people cancelling their Conservative memberships and clawing back donations.

Speaking after addressing the crowd, Khanna said he respected MacKenzie and hoped that he would get his support in the next election.

“I want to thank him for his service and wish him all the best,” added Khanna.

As of 1 a.m., NDP candidate Cody Groat took third place in the race with 10.2 per cent, with Christian Heritage Party candidate John Markus in fourth at 4.5 per cent.

The remaining candidates were Wendy Martin of the People’s Party of Canada, receiving 3.6 per cent, Cheryle Baker of the Green Party, getting 2.2 per cent and perennial Independent candidate John The Engineer Turmel finished last with less than one per cent of the vote.