Former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, who ran anti-drugs ads against the NDP in the last federal election, is facing charges for drunk driving and cocaine possession.
Jaffer, who is married to Conservative cabinet minister Helena Guergis, was arrested early Friday morning by Ontario Provincial police in Palgrave, northwest of Toronto.
OPP say the officer stopped a speeding SUV at about 12:45, and reported the driver smelled of alcohol.
Jaffer faces charges of driving while over the legal blood-alcohol limit, and with possession of cocaine.
His licence has been suspended for 90 days and he is to appear in court Oct. 19.
Jaffer, 37, was MP for Edmonton-Strathcona from 1997 to his surprising defeat in 2008. He was the only Tory to lose in Alberta in the most recent federal election and has been said to have taken his defeat hard.
Days before the election, Jaffer launched attack ads criticizing NDP Leader Jack Layton as soft on drugs.
Part of the radio ads said: "Edmontonians understand how difficult it is to make sure our children make the right choices, especially on serious issues like drug use. The Conservative Party supports drug-free schools and getting tough with drug dealers who sell illegal drugs to children. Don't let our schools go up in smoke. On October 14th vote Conservative."
Jaffer was first elected to the House of Commons at the tender age of 25.
In 2001, he made an emotional apology in Parliament after it was discovered one of his staff impersonated him on a radio show while the MP was busy.
He was born in Kampala, Uganda, and immigrated to Edmonton as a boy.
Jaffer was arrested near his wife's riding of Simcoe-Grey. They were married Oct. 15 last year, one day before the federal election.
