TORONTO - The latest Liberal MP to defect to the Conservatives has been a military pilot, a prisoner of war, an immigrant and a car salesman who rose from the rank and file to become president of one of the country's largest auto dealerships.
Those who know Wajid Khan personally say there's another important descriptor to add to the list - genuine Conservative at heart.
"He essentially started as a Conservative politician," said Muslim Canadian Congress founder Tarek Fatah, who came to know Khan through their work in the Muslim community during the past 15 years.
"Very few people are aware of his Tory heritage."
In 2002, that heritage saw Khan throw his support behind now Federal Health Minister Tony Clement's bid for the leadership of the Ontario Tories.
"He was a provincial Conservative at that time and was supportive of my leadership bid," said Clement. "We've kept the friendship going since then."
Khan's defection came just one day after Liberal Party Leader Stephane Dion demanded the MP make a choice between the Liberals and his role as special adviser on the Middle East and Afghanistan to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Despite appearances, the move was a long time coming, said Clement.
"I've known (since the February 2006 election) that he's been conflicted and he's being trying to wrestle with whether he should make a big change in his political orientation," said Clement.
"I knew this was coming and I'm glad to see this come to fruition."
Khan was first elected to Parliament as a Liberal in 2004, a party affiliation that had more to do with a personal connection to former prime minister Paul Martin than deep-seated beliefs, said Clement.
"He was a lot closer to Stephen Harper, and to what we represented as a party," said Clement.
While Khan's dramatic move to the Conservatives on Friday further shifted the balance of power in Parliament and dominated news headlines, his life before politics is decidedly more interesting.
Before settling in Canada in 1974, Khan spent eight years as an officer and pilot in Pakistan's air force. Shot down while carrying out a mission during the India-Pakistan war, he was held for a time as a prisoner of war.
"He's gone through quite a rigorous exercise early in his life," noted Fatah.
Once in Canada, Khan rose from the rank of car salesman to become president and chief executive of a Mazda car dealership in Toronto - one of the country's largest.
"He's a success story," said Fatah, whose own political colours run Grit red. "It's a pity that the Liberals will lose him."
Even when he sat with the Liberals, Khan's personal politics were evident - he voted in favour of a Conservative motion to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage.
Last June, in the wake of the sensational arrests of 17 terror suspects - many of whom resided in Khan's Toronto-area riding of Mississauga-Streetsville - the MP expressed frustration that some Muslim community leaders had emphasized that Islam was not to blame for the arrests.
Khan then offered his services as adviser to Harper, which the prime minister readily accepted.
His controversial position on the arrests led to death threats, via e-mail and telephone, that warned that he would be "taken care of" in either Canada or in Pakistan for being anti-Muslim, a source told The Canadian Press on condition of anonymity.
The source, who has deep roots in the Muslim community, said he fears Khan's defection to the Tories will lead to even more threats against the MP.
