Chandra Arya

Chandrakanth "Chandra" Arya MP (born 1963) is an Indian-Canadian Liberal politician, who represents the riding of Nepean in the House of Commons of Canada since the 2015 federal election.

Biography

Arya is native of Dwarlu village, Sira Taluk, Tumkur district, Karnataka state. He did his M.B.A from Kousali Institute of Management Studies, Dharwad which is affiliated with Karnataka University, Dharwad. In 2006, Arya immigrated to Canada. He was the chairman of the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber prior to entering politics.

Political career

Arya was elected to represent the riding of Nepean in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election and subsequently re-elected in the 2019 federal election. He currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade.

He was re-elected in the 2021 federal election despite criticism from the members of the Ottawa Punjabi Association, who put up anti-Arya signs during the campaign. Sean Devine, the NDP candidate was critical of his performance representing the riding, and targeted Tamil, Punjabi and Sikh communities that felt alienated by Arya.

In 2022, Arya became the first member of parliament to speak in Kannada, his mother tongue, in the House of Commons of Canada. Arya blamed “Khalistani extremists” for vandalizing Hindu temples in Toronto.

On April 14, 2023, Arya sponsored petition e-4395, calling on the Liberal government to reconsider setting up a "foreign influence transparency registry.” Arya told Global News that he agrees with the concerns expressed by the petitioners. Trudeau, who was asked about the petition, responded by saying he supported the registry but argued to be cautious with the implementation.

After the allegations surrounding the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar were revealed, Arya claimed CBC News that Hindu Canadians were "fearful" of Sikh separatist supporters. When the Toronto Star inquired about his comments, he refused to speak to them by stating that he does "live interviews" to avoid being misquoted and called himself a coward to the newspaper.

Arya is a candidate in the 2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, upon the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Controversies

In 2016, political journalist Kady O'Malley reported that Arya faced an ethics inquiry after awarding 26 graduating elementary, middle school, and high school students either an Amazon Kindle e-reader or $500 in cash for showing "perseverance in the face of adversity". Arya defended himself against accusations that he violated the House of Commons conflict of interest code by stating that the Nepean Liberal Riding Association paid for the award.

In 2021, Arya apologized after a staffer emailed private information of nine hundred constituents to Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) staffers. The CPC told their staffers to delete the email and Arya didn't face any sanctions due to Canadian privacy laws.

In November 2022, Arya's private member bill, which proclaimed that November is Hindu Heritage Month passed unanimously. When Arya raised a flag on Parliament Hill to celebrate the event; academics from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and groups from the Hindus for Human Rights sent letters to Trudeau due to their belief that it appeared that flag represented the Hindu nationalist organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Arya claimied to CBC News that the flag "represented the Hindu faith" and "not support for any political organization".

In February 2023, Global News reported that from July 2020 to September 30, 2022, Arya outpaced his house colleagues in "protocol" gifts by purchasing 1,025 plaques for a total worth of $21,931 by using taxpayer funds. Global noted that contracted to a single company SINIX Media Group, who received fifty-three contracts for an amount of $53,681.50 from Arya’s constituency office over the same period. He told the outlet that the plaques were for his constituents but ignored any questions about a working relationship with the firm's chief executive officer.

In March 2024, Arya sent an email trying to convince his fellow member of parliaments to oppose fellow Liberal caucus member Sukh Dhaliwal's motion-M112, "Political Interference, Violence, or Intimidation on Canadian Soil," claiming that it would damage Canada-India relationship. Dhaliwal responded to The Hill Times that the motion was meant to protect every Canadians regardless of backgrounds, from all forms of foreign interference. While a few parliamentarians abstained from the vote, the motion passed unanimously.

When filmmaker Leena Manimekalai faced backlash online for a poster of her movie Kaali, which depicted the Hindu goddess, Kali smoking and holding an LGBT flag, he condemned the poster on Twitter and linked it to vandalisms of Hindu temples. Manimekalai argued that Arya used his position to legitimize threats against her, while over a hundred academics, activists, and community organization members sent a letter to criticizing Arya's remarks to Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

Electoral record