Ruby Dhalla and Chandra Arya were eliminated from the race at the national level, while party suspended Viresh Bansal as its candidate for Oshawa.

Following the announcement of Justin Trudeau’s stepping down as the prime minister, the Liberal Party started a leadership contest to choose the premier until the next election.

The former MP, Ruby Dhalla, was disqualified due to “extremely serious” violations. She rejected the decision.

Azam Ishmael, Liberal Party of Canada National Director, stated in a statement that she breached 10 rules including “concerns about alleged violations of the Canada Election Act, certain other election finance matters, nondisclosure of material facts, and inaccurate financial reporting”.

Chandra Arya, another candidate of Indian-origin, was rejected earlier, leading him to question the process. “I was informed by the Liberal Party of Canada that I will not be permitted to enter the leadership race,” said Chandra.

At the provincial level, Viresh Bansal was suspended as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Oshawa, the elections for which are scheduled for next week, on February 27. He was disqualified after his 2023 post resurfaced, in which he had made derogatory comments on NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau.

The developments in Canada’s Liberal Party come even as India-Canada ties remain strained over PM Justin Trudeau’s claims of alleged Indian involvement in the killing of Canadian national and supporter of Khalistan.