Arpan Khanna narrowly wins Oxford federal byelection

Conservative MP wins federal Oxford byelection Arpan Khanna is elected MP in Oxford County in the tightest of the four races. CTV’s Alexandra Pinto has more.

After leading for the majority of the day, Conservative MP Arpan Khanna has won the federal byelection in Oxford County.

Voters went to the polls Monday to cast their ballot in four federal byelections.

One of those ridings was Oxford, which includes the communities of Woodstock, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg, Brant, Norwich, Zorra, South-West Oxford, East Zorra-Tavistock, and Blandford-Blenheim.

It ended up being the tightest of the four races when Khanna was elected late Monday night. Khanna was leading Liberal MP David Hilderly by only hundreds of votes throughout the evening.

The byelection was triggered after Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie stepped down in January.

A stronger-than-usual Liberal vote emerged after controversy erupted when MacKenzie announced he was backing the Liberal candidate, following his disapproval of the party's handling of Khanna, who he said parachuted into the community.

Candidates on Monday’s ballot included Arpan Khanna for the Conservative party, Cheryle Baker for the Green Party, David Hilderly for the Liberal party, and Cody Groat for the NDP.

Polling stations were open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

With files from the Canadian Press