Candidate clarifies residency
Dentist seeking PC nomination
CAMBRIDGE — Tanya Khattra, the Calgary dentist who is leading the race to be the Progressive Conservative candidate in Cambridge, is finally speaking out about the controversy around her residency.
Khattra, who has declined repeated requests to be interviewed, issued a statement on Facebook this week clarifying that she has never lived in Cambridge and North Dumfries, the riding she hopes to represent after the next provincial election.
“I rented a Cambridge space in September for the mere purpose of a campaign office. I do not live there, nor have I ever claimed to do so,” she wrote.
But Khattra says she does have a connection to this region. She said she once owned a dental office in Waterloo, and said her brother still lives in Cambridge, but she did not any provide details.
She denies the accusation she’s a parachute candidate dropping into a riding with a history of voting for the PCs. She says she lived in Ontario until 2012, and worked at dental clinics in London, Port Colborne and Brampton.
“I am a candidate who has simply returned home after a five-year absence. My heart belongs to this riding,” she said. “My family and friends live in Cambridge and I do consider it my home. I lived in Waterloo and Kitchener prior to Alberta.”
Khattra said “it is time to set the record straight.” But some of the statements in Khattra’s Facebook post appear to contradict that goal.
She claims she used an Ontario driver’s licence to file her application to become a PC candidate. But a copy of her official candidate application package provided to The Record includes an Alberta driver’s licence and a passport with an Alberta address.
She also states that Gulab Singh Saini, an influential party organizer and the PC’s director of South Asian membership, has nothing to do with her campaign. But the pair have been photographed together frequently at her campaign events, and he’s publicly endorsing her.
Khattra, running in her fist political campaign, was born in Patiala, India, went to high school in Windsor and took a two-year dentistry program at the University of Texas in San Antonio.
She confirmed she’s continuing her dental practice in Alberta. But Khattra said that she’s transferring those patients to others and isn’t taking on any new patients at her Calgary office because she’s “returning home to Cambridge.”
PC Party rules state any eligible candidate must have lived in Ontario for six months prior to an election. But while she’s still not a resident of the province, Khattra says her eligibility to run shouldn’t be an issue.
In her candidate’s application, Khattra left blank a question about how long she’s been a member of the Ontario PC Party.
“I have been living with my brother here and actively looking for a Cambridge home that will best suit my family’s needs. I have nothing to hide about my residency or eligibility to seek the PC nomination,” she said.
Khattra said she’s leaning on a local team to help her as she seeks the nomination. She said her campaign manager is Prakash Venkataraman, a Cambridge resident and a consultant in the oil industry.
“It is my good fortune to have an advisory committee that has lived in this riding the majority of their lives and have known me for most of mine. They are passionate and continuously work in the best interest of Cambridge and North Dumfries, just as I will do under all circumstances,” she said. “But no matter the outcome of the nomination meeting I am here for the long haul; here to help and return a PC government to Queen’s Park.”