2023 Oxford federal by-election

2023 Oxford federal by-election

←  2021 June 19, 2023 (2023-06-19) 2025  →
Riding of Oxford
Turnout	39.81%
First party Second party Third party   LPC NDP Candidate Arpan Khanna David Hilderley Cody Groat Party Conservative Liberal New Democratic Popular vote 16,688 14,164 4,053 Percentage 42.92% 36.43% 10.42% Swing 4.13% 15.90% 7.86%
MP before election Dave MacKenzie Conservative Elected MP Arpan Khanna Conservative

A by-election was held in the federal riding of Oxford in Ontario on June 19, 2023, following the resignation of Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie. ^[1]

The by-election was held on the same day as three others; Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, Portage—Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre. ^[2]

Background

Constituency

The electoral district is a mixed rural and urban constituency which covers Oxford County and a small portion of the County of Brant. ^[3] The seat is generally considered safe for the Conservative Party, ^[4] having voted Tory in every election since 1953, except for when the right was divided between 1993 and 2004.

Representation

The riding of Oxford was vacated on January 28, 2023, following the resignation of Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie, who had held the seat since 2004.

Campaign

Candidates

Arpan Khanna, the party's national outreach chair and 2019 candidate in Brampton North ^[5] defeated Woodstock city-county councillor Deb Tait, MacKenzie's daughter and former ministerial staffer Rick Roth for the Conservative nomination. ^{[6] [7]} Gerrit Van Dorland, executive assistant to Cypress Hills—Grasslands MP Jeremy Patzer was running for the nomination until he was disqualified by the Conservatives over a dispute about whether he disclosed information to the party. ^{[8] [9]} In February 2023, MacKenzie accused the party of supporting Khanna, which he argues is a violation of the party nomination rules based on the Conservative's code of conduct, during the race. ^{[10] [11]}

Running for the Liberals is local realtor, former educator, and past Woodstock mayoral candidate David Hilderley. ^{[12] [13] [14]} Citing concerns with the Conservative nomination process, previous MP Dave MacKenzie endorsed Hilderley in April 2023. ^[12]

Western University professor Cody Groat defeated Matthew Chambers, the party candidate for the riding in the 2019 and 2021 elections for the NDP nomination. ^{[15] [16]}

Polling

Polling Firm	Last Date of Polling	Link	CPC	LPC	NDP	PPC	GPC	Others	Undecided	Margin of Error [1]	Sample Size [2]	Polling Method [3]
Mainstreet Research	June 14, 2023	HTML	36	36	7	5	4	7	5	±4.5 pp	473	IVR
			38	38	8	6	4	7	—

Results

v t e Canadian federal by-election, June 19, 2023 : Oxford Resignation of Dave MacKenzie
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arpan Khanna	16,688	42.92	-4.13
	Liberal	David Hilderley	14,164	36.43	+15.90
	New Democratic	Cody Groat	4,053	10.42	-7.86
	Christian Heritage	John Markus	1,672	4.30	+3.53
	People's	Wendy Martin	1,278	3.29	-7.36
	Green	Cheryle Baker	854	2.20	-0.52
	Independent	John The Engineer Turmel	171	0.44
Total valid votes			38,880	99.38
Total rejected ballots			243	0.62	+0.01
Turnout			39,123	39.81	-25.08
Eligible voters			98,270
	Conservative hold		Swing		-10.01
Source: Elections Canada [17]

2021 results

2021 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Dave MacKenzie	29,146	47.05	-1.09
	Liberal	Elizabeth Quinto	12,720	20.53	+1.24
	New Democratic	Matthew Chambers	11,325	18.28	-1.93
	People's	Wendy Martin	6,595	10.65	+7.73
	Green	Bob Reid	1,683	2.72	-5.12
	Christian Heritage	Allen Scovil	479	0.77	-0.85
Total valid votes			61,948	99.39
Total rejected ballots			379	0.61	-0.25
Turnout			62,327	64.89	-1.04
Eligible voters			96,055
	Conservative hold		Swing		-1.17
Source: Elections Canada [18]

References

1. "Dave MacKenzie Announces Retirement Plans". 104.7 Heart FM. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
2. "4 federal byelections set for June in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
3. "Oxford".
4. "All eyes on Oxford: Opponents, some Conservatives raise questions about Conservative candidate's commitment to riding".
5. "'Hijacked': Riding officials quit after heated Conservative nomination fight". lfpress. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
6. Rana, Abbas (January 6, 2023). "Conservative Party's outreach chair Khanna to duke it out with Tory MP MacKenzie's daughter Tait and former Hill staffer Roth in coveted Oxford, Ont., nomination bid". The Hill Times. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
7. Rana, Abbas (January 16, 2023). "Tory MP Patzer's Hill staffer, Van Dorland, announces his candidacy for coveted Conservative nomination in Oxford, Ont". The Hill Times. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
8. "Conservatives defend ousting Ontario candidate amid anger from anti-abortion group". Global News. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
9. "Tory MP Patzer's Hill staffer, Van Dorland, announces his candidacy for coveted Conservative nomination in Oxford, Ont". The Hill Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
10. "'It pains me to do this': former Tory MP MacKenzie blasts Poilievre and Scheer for favouring Oxford, Ont., nomination candidate". The Hill Times. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
11. "Election meddling top of mind in Tory nomination race facing membership fraud complaints". The Hill Times. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
12. "Former Ontario Tory MP backing Liberal in byelection in riding". The Globe and Mail. April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
13. @liberal_party (May 15, 2023). "David Hilderley is a dedicated community leader, retired educator, and successful real estate agent. As our Liberal candidate for the by-election in Oxford, he's ready to continue working for the people and families across his community as their next Liberal MP" (Tweet). Retrieved May 15, 2023– via Twitter.
14. "Liberal's confirm their nominee, candidates excited for Oxford County federal byelection campaign - London | Globalnews.ca". 980 CFPL. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
15. "Amid Conservative divide in stronghold Oxford, NDP eye byelection opening". lfpress. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
16. "Professor wins NDP nod for Southwestern Ontario federal byelection". lfpress. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
17. "June 19, 2023, by-elections—Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
18. "forty-fourth general election 2021 — Poll-by-poll results". Elections Canada . Retrieved June 1, 2023.