Marwan Tabbara

Marwan Rached Tabbara MP is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Kitchener South—Hespeler in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.

Marwan Tabbara was born in Beirut, Lebanon on August 23, 1984. Four years later, his family immigrated to Canada to flee the ongoing Lebanese Civil War.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from the University of Guelph, Tabbara took several construction jobs in the summer before working at the Frito Lay plant in Cambridge, where he worked as a line technician. He also worked as a field supervisor for a management company doing quality control work within the automotive industry.

2015 comments on the Middle East

For the 2015 federal election, during a Kitchener South—Hespeler debate, Tabbara mentioned that Jean Chrétien refused to send troops into Afghanistan when he was prime minister even though Canada began sending troops to Afghanistan in 2001 during Chretien's tenure. Tabbara's statement was challenged by Conservative candidate Marian Gagne to which he replied "So is bombing Syrian children OK?" Tabbara apologized for the comments.

Criminal charges

On April 10, 2020, Tabbara was arrested by police in Guelph, Ontario on charges that included two counts of assault, one count of "break and enter and commit an indictable offence" and one count of criminal harassment. Tabbara is scheduled to make a court appearance on June 19, 2020 in relation to the charges. On June 5, 2020 it was reported that he is “stepping back from the Liberal caucus” but not resigning as an MP.