Wajid Khan

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Wajid Ali Khan
Member of Parliament
for Mississauga—Streetsville
Incumbent
Assumed office 
2004 election
Preceded by Steve Mahoney
Born April 24, 1946 (1946-04-24) (age 62)
Lahore, British India (now Pakistan)
Political party Conservative Party of Canada
(Feb 3, 2008-present)
Other political
affiliations		 Liberal Party of Canada
(2003-2007)
Conservative Party of Canada
(Jan 5, 2007-Nov 23, 2007)
Independent
(Nov 23, 2007-Feb 3, 2008)
Spouse Tasnim Kahn
Residence Toronto
Profession Politician
Religion Islam

Wajid Ali Khan (born April 24, 1946 in Lahore, British India) (now Pakistan) is a Canadian businessman and politician. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville as a Conservative Member of Parliament.

Khan served as an officer and pilot in the Pakistan Air Force from 1966 to 1973.[1]. He took part in the India-Pakistan war in 1971 as a MiG-19 fighter pilot. He was shot down during one of his missions and spent some time as a Prisoner of War.

He moved to Toronto, Canada, in 1974. Since then, he has emerged as a prominent voice in the city's Pakistani and Muslim communities of the city. Prior to his election, he was the President and CEO of the largest automobile showroom in Canada, that of Dufferin Mazda. He can still be heard advertising for his dealership regularly on the FAN 590 morning Radio Show in Toronto.

Khan entered politics as a member of the Liberal Party, and supported Paul Martin for the party leadership in 2003. He was elected with over 50% support in Mississauga—Streetsville in the 2004 federal election, defeating Conservative Nina Tangri by nearly a 20 percentage point margin. Along with Yasmin Ratansi, Khan was the first Muslim Member of Parliament (MP) to be elected for the Liberal Party. Rahim Jaffer, also a Muslim MP, had been elected for the Reform Party in 1997.

Khan voted against his government's same-sex marriage bill on June 28, 2005.

Khan was re-elected in the 2006 federal election, defeating Conservative Raminder Gill by an 11% margin. After his reelection, he was appointed Associate Critic for National Defense, and more recently Associate Critic for Treasury Board. Khan initially supported Joe Volpe in the 2006 Liberal leadership campaign, and later joined Volpe in throwing his support behind Bob Rae. As a Liberal, Khan voted against the extension of Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan until 2009.

He was appointed as special advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the Middle East and Afghanistan on August 8, 2006. In response to criticisms about providing support for his Conservative political opponents, Khan emphasized the non-partisan nature of his appointment, noting that he sought and received the approval of Liberal leader Bill Graham prior to taking on the responsibility. [2] Khan was sent to the Middle East on a 16-day trip to prepare a report on conditions there; before departing, he promised that the report would be made public upon his return, a promise which later became a point of contention. [3]

Early in January 2007, media outlets began reporting speculation that Khan was considering crossing the floor to join the Conservative Party.[4] Liberal leader Stéphane Dion had stated that he would not permit Khan to continue in his role as an advisor to Stephen Harper while sitting as a Liberal MP. On January 5, Khan crossed the floor to the Conservatives.[5]

Following his defection to the Tories, there were calls from Khan's former Liberal colleagues for his Middle East report to be made public as promised; however, Prime Minister Harper refused this, saying that publication of the report would make Khan "a pundit and not an advisor." [6]

On January 15, 2007 it was revealed that Khan's old Liberal riding association had been deregistered by Elections Canada effective December 31, 2006. Khan's businesses lent a nearly $180,000 to the riding association in a two-year period. While loans to riding associations are permissible, the magnitude of the loans from Khan's business was considered highly unusual.[7] However, Elections Canada later ruled that no wrongdoing had been committed by Khan.[8]

On November 15, 2007, Khan was charged under the Elections Act with overspending by $30,000 in the previous election campaign. Khan, his business, and his riding president were also charged with election spending unauthorized by his official agent. On November 23, 2007, he announced that he would withdraw from the Conservative caucus and sit as an Independent MP.[9] On February 3, 2008, Chief Government Whip Jay Hill announced that Khan had fully concluded the matter with Elections Canada and had been readmitted to the Conservative caucus.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Turley-ewart, John. National Post,For Liberals, the wrong kind of Muslim, January 10, 2007
  2. ^ Clark, Campbell. "PM picks Muslim Liberal MP as adviser on Mideast", The Globe and Mail, August 9, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-17. 
  3. ^ Clark, Campbell. "Khan report blocked, despite Tory promise on secrecy", The Globe and Mail, 29 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  4. ^ Liberal MP with Tory advisory role will not defect: Dion. cbc.ca (January 5, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-01.
  5. ^ MP Khan bolts Liberals for Tories. cbc.ca (January 5, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-05.
  6. ^ "Khan report won't be made public: Harper", CBC News, 8 February 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  7. ^ New Tory lent $179,946 to ex-Liberal associates. canada.com (Ottawa Citizen). Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  8. ^ Elections Canada says Khan can lend himself money. CTV.ca. Retrieved on 2007-03-01.
  9. ^ "Ontario Tory MP charged under the Elections Act", Canadian Press, 23 November 2007.
  10. ^ "Conservatives welcome Khan back into the fold", Ottawa Citizen, 3 February 2008.

[edit] External links

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by
Steve Mahoney		 Member of Parliament for Mississauga—Streetsville
2004–present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
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