Liberal MP Chandra Arya Announces Bid for Party Leadership

Liberal MP Chandra Arya stands with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a press conference highlighting the first-time home buyer incentive, at Tamarack Homes' Cardinal Creek Village development in Ottawa on March 20, 2019. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

MP Chandra Arya is the second candidate and firs current Liberal caucus member to declare his candidacy for the leadership of the Party.

Ayra announced his decision in a video message on Jan. 9, saying his vision is that the country needs to provide equal opportunities for younger generations to “unleash” entrepreneurship, and allow children and grandchildren to “embrace family values and take pride in a renewed, vibrant Canadian identity.”

Arya also pledged to make Canada a “sovereign republic,” which would involve replacing the monarchy as the head of state. He also outlined in a statement plans to restructure or eliminate government programs that are no longer relevant.

Arya, who has represented the Ontario riding of Nepean, is the first sitting MP to announce he is running for leadership of the Liberal Party.

Ayra, who has degrees in engineering and business administration and was an executive in the high-tech sector, immigrated to Canada from India in 2006 and became chairman of the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber before being elected to Parliament in 2015.

Arya sponsored a petition in the House of Commons in 2023 calling for the Liberal government to reconsider setting up a “foreign influence transparency registry.” The petition said such a registry was a “misleading way to identify sources of foreign influence“ and posed the risk of causing ”serious harassment and stigmatization risk for racialized communities.” The petition was tabled as the government said it was considering such a registry amid widespread intelligence reports of China’s meddling in Canadian elections. The government enacted the registration as part of its legislation to combat foreign interference that was passed last year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 his intention to step down following the selection of a new leader by the Liberal Party. He also asked Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24, a request she granted.

Businessman and former parliamentarian Frank Baylis was the first to announce he would be running as leader.

Several cabinet ministers have said they are considering running in the leadership race. These include Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne,  Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon.

Former cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland, who has been floated as a potential candidate, has yet to publicly express her intent to run and has not answered reporters’ questions about her plans.

Former B.C. Premier Christy Clark and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney have recently said they are considering a run for the top spot as well.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Jan. 8 he would not run for the leadership, saying he wanted to remain focused on his job of preparing for potential tariffs from the United States. Immigration Minister Marc Miller has also ruled out running for the job.