Chandra Arya, a member of parliament of Indian descent, said that he will run for prime minister of Canada from the Liberal Party, just four days after Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as prime minister due to internal strife within the party. Chandra Arya stated that he will run to lead a “small, more efficient” government to rebuild Canada in a long post on X, formerly Twitter.
In his post, Arya discussed a number of concerns that Canada and his party are experiencing, such as student affordability, a faltering middle class, and a debilitating economy. He also offered his skills and experience to help the nation overcome these obstacles. He said what Canada faces right now is a “perfect storm” and that the country “deserves a leadership that isn’t afraid to make the big decisions.” He added that he is ready to take on this responsibility and lead the country.
“Decisions that rebuild our economy, restore hope, create equal opportunities for all Canadians, and secure prosperity for our children and grandchildren. Bold political decisions are not optional—they are necessary. With prudence and pragmatism as my guiding principles, I’m stepping forward to take on this responsibility and lead Canada as its next Prime Minister,” he wrote in his post.
In an effort to rally support, Arya has also launched his website, which features his complete statement and will be updated with his positions on a number of political topics as well as his proposed policies.
Arya has frequently voiced his support for the Hindu population in Canada and voiced his worries about the rise of Khalistani radicalism there. Arya is a Liberal Party politician who is Indian-Canadian and serves as Nepean’s representative in the House of Commons. Since 2015, the engineer-turned-politician has won three Nepean elections. Karnataka is where Chandra Arya is from. He hails from Dwaralu hamlet, which is located roughly 70 kilometers from Bengaluru in the Shira taluka of Tumakuru district. In 2022, he proudly spoke in his home tongue Kannada at the Canadian Parliament, representing his cultural heritage. “I spoke in my mother tongue (first language) Kannada in Canadian parliament. This beautiful language has long history and is spoken by about 50 million people. This is the first time Kannada is spoken in any parliament in the world outside of India,” he had said in a post on Twitter, now X.
“A person from the country of India in Karnataka, Tumakuru district, Shira taluka, Dwaralu village has been elected to the parliament of Canada and speaking in Kannada is a matter of pride for 5 crore Kannadigas,” he had said in his speech.
Chandra Arya did his engineering followed by Masters in Business Administration from India and moved to Canada over twenty years ago with his wife and son. Before entering politics, he had a long stint in the tech and business sector. He started off as an engineer before joining a “financial institution funding small industry”, according to his website. He then started his entrepreneurial journey and owned a manufacturing firm.
After coming to Canada, Arya began his career as an investment advisor in a bank. He subsequently spent six years as an executive at a defense company before entering politics because he was passionate about empowering the middle class. Among his many accomplishments, he was the founder-director of the Federation of Canadian Brazilian Businesses and the Chair of the Indo-Canada Ottawa Business Chamber. He lives in Nepean with his son Sid, a chartered accountant, and his wife Sangeetha, a former employee of the Ottawa Catholic School Board.
