Guelph’s newly-named Conservative Party of Canada candidate says he could never have dreamed he would stand for office when he first came to Canada.
“When my family and I chose Canada as a forever home — a blessing, no doubt and a heaven on earth — I never dreamed of this day. This proves the potential of Canada,” said Dr. Ashish Sachan after being named the Conservative candidate for Guelph in the upcoming federal election.
Conservative Party supporters in Guelph selected the veterinarian and toxicology expert during a nomination meeting held Thursday evening at the Holiday Inn in Guelph.
Sachan was honoured and humbled by the nomination, which said came from hard work and determination.
“The number of new members we added was substantial, and in such a short amount of time — that speaks to the networking that we did,” he told the crowd of about 60 people in the room.
Speaking to GuelphToday immediately after the event, Sachan said his nomination represents a changing face of the Conservative Party.
“We had a very diverse turnout today. We had members from almost every community in Guelph, so that is what I mean by changing face — we are moving beyond the traditional voting block and extending our reach,” said Sachan. “We are adapting to the changing times.”
He said he was overwhelmed by the support he received during the entire nomination process and will continue to spread the message of conservatism in the lead up to the October election.
“I feel deeply about the principles of conservatism, I feel like everyone should know about them,” said Sachan.
One other candidate stood for the nomination, Derek Matisz — a lifelong Guelphite and senior vice-president of platform operations at consulting firm Maru/Matchbox.
A third local candidate that had previously been hinted at by Conservative insiders did not appear on the ballot.
Matisz said win or lose — running for the nomination was a great experience.
“I always wanted to do this, and I did it,” said Matisz. “This time it didn’t work, but next time it probably will.”
Matisz said he is looking forward to supporting Sachan’s campaign.
“Ashish is a great candidate, I am excited to get behind him,” said Matisz. “I am definitely looking forward to it because I think we are going to take this riding.”
Matisz said he learned a lot while knocking on doors during his campaign for the nomination.
“I think people really want to talk. There are a lot of people who feel their voice is not being heard — not just Conservatives, but regular people, as well,” he said.
Sachan said Matisz is a good friend and he welcomes his support.
“We ran a very positive campaign and we will make sure it runs as a conservative campaign, all the way until October,” said Sachan.
Sachan works in the private sector, is president of the Guelph Hindu Society and active in the Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership. In 2015, he worked on the campaign of then-federal Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach.
Incumbent Lloyd Longfield will seek reelection under the Liberal Party of Canada banner in October. The Green Party nominatin will be represented by Steve Dyck and Mark Paralovos will stand for the People's Party of Canada.
On Thursday, the local NDP riding association named Aisha Jahangir and Andy McCann-Pappin as its two candidate hopefuls in Guelph. The local NDP nomination meeting will be held June 22 at the Evergreen Centre.
Now that the nomination has been set, Sachan said he will spend some time with his family — wife Amita, daughter Sara and son Aryan — before the campaign formally begins.
“They missed me a lot in the last few months. I would like to spend my time with them,” he said.
