MONTREAL — A group representing Canadian Muslims has launched a campaign urging voters to choose federal election candidates based on their support for Gaza.
The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council says it plans to endorse candidates in several dozen ridings where Muslim voters could hold sway.
“This campaign ensures that the candidates support issues of justice, human rights and policies that reflect the concerns of our Canadian Muslim community,” executive director Khaled Al-Qazzaz said in an interview. “We hope to get candidates from all parties to commit to a principled stance as it relates to Gaza.”
The council says it will choose candidates based on their individual views on the conflict in Gaza and the rights of Palestinians, and will not endorse any party.
The group has prepared a list of 89 ridings with significant populations of Muslim voters. Fifty-five of them are in Ontario, with many in the Greater Toronto Area, while most of the rest are in and around Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton. The council says Muslim voters play “a defining role” in at least 40 of these ridings.
While endorsements will roll out over the coming weeks, Al-Qazzaz pointed to individual MPs who have a strong “track record” on the Palestinian cause, including NDP MP Heather McPherson and Liberal MP Salma Zahid.
A related campaign, called Vote Palestine, has published a list of federal candidates who have endorsed its “Palestine Platform,” which the council supports. The platform includes calls for a two-way arms embargo on Israel and for Canada to boost humanitarian support and “recognize the state of Palestine.”
The endorsement list so far includes 74 candidates, almost all of them New Democrats, along with a few Liberals and Greens. It does not include any Conservatives.
Still, Al-Qazzaz said some Conservative candidates are “from the community and understand the community concerns,” and are in communication with the council.
“So it is not out of the question to support Conservative candidates who are principled on issues of international human rights and domestic civil liberties,” he said.
Al-Qazzaz said the goal of the campaign is to “maximize support across all parties” and not to push the Muslim community to support one party.
“Respecting human life is something that all Canadians should support,” he said. “So it is actually an invitation for all parties and all candidates to remember why they’re doing politics.”
The council’s own polling found that 58 per cent of Canadian Muslims rank “foreign policy in Palestine” as the most important issue that will determine their vote. It also found that 86 per cent of respondents feel the federal government’s response to the war in Gaza has been inadequate.
Al-Qazzaz said the issue is also a matter of freedom of expression -- not just foreign policy. “Multiple voices have been intimidated and silenced because of their advocacy and expression on Palestine,” he said. “So we feel that this is an issue that is affecting all Canadians.”
The council on Wednesday launched a new website, called muslimsvote.ca, urging Canadian Muslims to cast their ballots “based on principles, not party loyalty or fear.”
A statement posted to the site encourages people to ask candidates where they stand on Gaza and Islamophobia.
“The past year has been deeply painful,” it reads. “As we move into the election, the Muslim community must mobilize to ensure our country lives up to its aspirations of being the global leader in prosperity, human dignity, and justice.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.
