Liberal MP Chandra Arya has kicked off his bid for the Liberal party’s leadership in an unconventional fashion.
Chandra seeks to move the Liberal party away from its roots by downplaying the importance of the French language for Quebec, advocating for Palestinian statehood, and condemning the prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion in government.
Arya is one of the first Liberal MPs to declare their candidacy for the Liberal leadership, entering the race before potential big-name candidates like Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney, and François Philippe-Champagne.
So far, Arya has run an unorthodox campaign for a Liberal politician.
In an interview on the CBC’s Power and Politics, Arya was asked about his French speaking abilities, to which Arya simply replied “no.”
“The point is that whether the Quebecers or English Canadians, it’s not the language that matters it’s what is that is delivered to them,” said Arya.
Arya argues that becoming a sovereign republic matters much more to Quebecers than the French language.
“We have English-speaking, French fluent prime ministers for all the time. One of the things that matters to Quebecers are being a sovereign country, a sovereign republic. And which prime minister has ever talked about that?”
Arya promised that if he were to become prime minister, he would move towards cutting Canada’s British ties and ditch the constitutional monarchy in favour of becoming a republic.
This would move the Liberal party away from the pro-monarchy position the party has historically taken and towards a republican stance that only the NDP and Bloc Québécois have mused about in the past.
Arya has also committed to reversing the Trudeau government’s habit of racking up large budget deficits and cutting the size of government.
“Every government program and entity will face a simple question: Is it still relevant? If not, it’s gone or will be restructured to deliver economic development. No excuses, no waste,” reads Arya’s campaign announcement.
To achieve Arya’s plan to run a fiscally responsible government, the Nepean MP said that he would raise the age of retirement by two years starting in the year 2040.
Arya also set a goal that Canada reach a total GDP of $5 trillion in 25 years. To achieve this, Arya plans to cut immigration, specifically for those working in low-skill sectors to promote economic growth.
To achieve a smaller government, Arya said that he would lead a smaller, more efficient cabinet that would not be appointed based on DEI considerations.
Arya has received criticism for a petition the Liberal MP had tabled advocating against the establishment of a foreign agent registry and for meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian government was allegedly involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Surrey, British Columbia.
In response to criticisms of his position on a foreign agent registry, Arya said that he in fact supports the creation of a foreign agent registry and that his position had been misconstrued by the news media.
“People make some assumptions based on the headline for – oh, MP Arya opposes foreign agent registry,” said Arya.
“If you read the petition the petitioners are not against actually having a registry for foreign agents. Everybody understands, every Canadian understands that,” said Arya.
On his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Arya questioned why Canadians would have a problem with him meeting with a foreign head of government and asserted that the meeting was a standard diplomatic affair.
“The last year I met two different prime ministers of two different countries, I met two foreign ministers of two different countries. The year before I met president, prime ministers, and ministers in so many different places,” said Arya.
“Just because I’m Hindu by allegiance and happen to meet a Hindu prime minister, people are making an issue.”