A long-time Oakville councillor and Liberal candidate for the upcoming federal election has died.

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton posted a statement on Facebook early Sunday, confirming that Coun. Max Khan passed away overnight.

"It is with extreme sadness that I must inform you that our friend and colleague Max Khan passed away Saturday night shortly after midnight," he said in the post.

"I understand he went to the hospital around 7 p.m. with a variety of pneumonia-like symptoms. He had told several of us that he had been suffering with what he believed to be a flu for several days."

Fellow councillor, Jeff Knoll, said that Khan had survived cancer three times in the past.

Burton said he believes a funeral will be held early Monday afternoon, and he will share details of the service on Facebook.

Khan, who was also a lawyer, was elected to Oakville council in 2006. He had been nominated to run for the federal Liberals in the upcoming election in the new riding of Oakville North-Burlington.

In a separate tweet, Burton called Khan a "tireless tiger" when it came to defending Oakville residents.

"We've lost a people's champion," he said.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was among the many friends and colleagues who paid tribute to Khan Sunday.