When Pierre Poilievre pitches the Conservative party to Muslim Canadians, he talks about 鈥渇aith, family and freedom.鈥
For months he has been pointing out what he sees as their overlapping values during visits to mosques, at community celebrations, with businesses and in conversations with ethnic media outlets.
It鈥檚 part of an effort to grow the party鈥檚 presence, particularly in larger cities that are home to many racialized Canadians whose support for the Conservatives plummeted during the final months of Stephen Harper鈥檚 government and his divisive 2015 campaign.
Poilievre has also fine-tuned his message to appeal to growing concerns from some parents, echoed by several prominent Muslim organizations, about what their children are learning about LGBTQ+ issues in schools.
He is gaining some traction with his acknowledgment of such worries, but whether he will take action through party policy remains unclear.
Some also wonder what he would do to address the Islamophobia that many feel his party exacerbated the last time it was in power. 鈥淭his is where we have that sort of cautious optimism,鈥 said Nawaz Tahir, a lawyer who chairs Hikma, an advocacy group for Muslims in southwestern Ontario. Tahir met Poilievre with other community leaders this summer.
鈥淲hile it might be resonating in the short term, there are long-term questions about whether or not people will continue to listen, or latch on, in the absence of some concrete policy proposals.鈥
Poilievre has chosen to walk a careful path on the issue of 鈥減arental rights.鈥 The term, which speaks to the desire by parents to make decisions regarding their children, has been popularized by people with wide-ranging concerns about efforts to make schools more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students, such as by raising Pride flags or including discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the curriculum.
New Brunswick and Saskatchewan now require parental permission for transgender and nonbinary students to use different names or pronouns at school. Court challenges have ensued, with teachers鈥 unions and provincial child advocates saying the policies put vulnerable students at risk.
The Conservative leader has said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should 鈥渂utt out鈥 of the issue and 鈥渓et parents raise kids,鈥 but otherwise Poilievre has stayed mum on how he might respond.
At last month鈥檚 policy convention in Quebec City, Conservative party members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a policy change to prohibit minors experiencing gender dysphoria from receiving 鈥渓ife-altering鈥 pharmaceutical or surgical treatment.
A video posted online shows that Poilievre said during a Punjabi media event in Surrey, B.C., several days later that he was 鈥渢aking some time to study that policy to come to the right solution.鈥
He said the party would have to consider 鈥渏urisdictions,鈥 in the sense of 鈥渨hich level of government is responsible for it鈥 鈥 but ultimately, 鈥淚 will be making my position clear.鈥
Poilievre鈥檚 office did not respond to a question about whether he has come to any conclusions.
His office was also silent in July when a photo circulated online that showed Conservative finance critic and Calgary MP Jasraj Singh Hallan with two men who wore T-shirts that read 鈥渓eave our kids alone.鈥 The shirts featured an image of stylized figures beneath an umbrella shielding them from the rainbow of colours associated with LGBTQ+ Pride flags.
One of the men in the photo, Mahmoud Mourra, a Muslim father of five, has for months been protesting school policies and activities that acknowledge students鈥 sexual orientation and gender identity.
As he and thousands of others took to the streets in recent countrywide demonstrations against 鈥済ender ideology鈥 in schools on Sept. 20, Trudeau posted on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that 鈥渢ransphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country.鈥
Poilievre鈥檚 office, meanwhile, instructed MPs to keep quiet.
Two days later, Poilievre also posted on X, accusing Trudeau of 鈥渄emonizing concerned parents鈥 with his statement about the protests.
The Muslim Association of Canada also condemned Trudeau鈥檚 remarks, saying Muslim parents who participated in protests showed up 鈥渢o be heard, not to sow division.鈥 The organization said it feared Muslim kids would face 鈥渋ncreased bullying and harassment鈥 at school 鈥攁 statement Poilievre and many of his MPs shared online.
Dalia Mohamed, who leads public affairs at the Canadian chapter of the Islamic Society of North America, said her organization has heard from parents who worry their children face pushback when opting out of certain lessons or activities related to LGBTQ+ issues.
鈥淲hat they鈥檙e seeing more and more is that their kids are facing repercussions,鈥 she said.
An audio recording surfaced online in June alleged to be an Edmonton school teacher chastising a Muslim student about missing class to avoid Pride events. The unidentified teacher says respect for differences 鈥済oes two ways,鈥 adding that if the student thinks same-sex marriage should not be legal, then he 鈥渃an鈥檛 be Canadian鈥 and does not 鈥渂elong here.鈥
The National Council of Canadian Muslims called it 鈥渄eeply Islamophobic, inappropriate and harassing behaviour.鈥 The school board said it was dealing with the issue.
Tahir, with Hikma, said it comes down to respecting religious freedom, adding that it is 鈥渘ot part of our faith teaching鈥 to hate the LGBTQ+ community. 鈥淲e condemn that,鈥 he said.
Tahir said he and other community leaders told Poilievre the Conservatives have an opportunity to regain the support of Muslim Canadians.
He argued that the 鈥渧ast majority鈥 of Muslims voted for Brian Mulroney鈥檚 Progressive Conservatives in the 1980s and early 鈥90s.
鈥淭here was a lot of alignment on a number of issues. And that seems to have gone by the wayside,鈥 he said.
Still, while there is frustration that the governing Liberals have failed to take enough action against Islamophobia,including within its own government agencies, Poilievre faces an uphill battle against long memories.
鈥淗e was around the table during the Harper years when there were some things that happened that were not well received by the Muslim community,鈥 said Tahir.
In 2011, then-immigration minister Jason Kenney brought in a rule requiring Muslim women to remove face coverings, such as niqabs, when swearing the oath during citizenship ceremonies. During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Conservatives asked the Supreme Court to hear a request to appeal a court decision to overturn that policy, and Harper mused about extending it to all public servants. The Conservatives also promised to create a tip line to enforce a law against 鈥渂arbaric cultural practices,鈥 which they said at the time included forced marriages.
Eight years later, Conservatives are still apologizing.
鈥淢istakes were made. No doubt about that,鈥 Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said in August of the 2015 campaign at a Greater Toronto Area breakfast meeting with members of the Pakistani community.
鈥淭here鈥檚 rebuilding of trust,鈥 he said in a video shared online. 鈥淎nd I understand people saying, 鈥榃ell, we鈥檙e not sure yet because of some of the things that happened in the past.鈥欌
He described a 鈥渄eep fundamental connection鈥 between the Conservative party and the wider Muslim community. He said a 鈥渞enaissance鈥 of that relationship is underway.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to reach out to the community and tell them, 鈥業t鈥檚 a new party, that was eight years ago,鈥欌 Conservative Sen. Salma Ataullahjan said at the same event. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.
In a written statement, Genuis said the party鈥檚 message around lower prices, affordable housing and safer communities is 鈥渞esonating with Canadians of all walks of life.
So is its defence of 鈥渇aith, family and freedom,鈥 he added.
Poilievre addressed the criticism of the Conservatives鈥 unsuccessful 2015 campaign during last year鈥檚 leadership race. Rival candidate Patrick Brown, who at the time was counting on heavy support from Muslim communities, accused Poilievre of having never 鈥減ublicly stood against鈥 the divisive policies, such as a 鈥渘iqab ban.鈥 Poilievre pushed back by noting the policy was limited to swearing the citizenship oath.
Since winning the leadership, Poilievre has travelled extensively to meet with immigrant and racialized communities that Conservatives had long ago credited with delivering them a majority victory in 2011.
Historically, the party has believed that many in these groups tend to be more religiously conservative, that they will prioritize public safety and that they are looking for policies, such as lower taxes, that can help them gain an economic foothold in Canada.
Tahir said Poilievre was told during his meeting this summer that if he comes back with concrete plans to address Islamophobia, there would be 鈥渁 strong willingness鈥 from the community to vote Conservative.
In 2017, Poilievre voted alongside other Conservative MPs against a motion from a Liberal MP to condemn Islamophobia, citing concerns it could infringe on free speech.
During Ramadan this spring, Poilievre said in an interview with Canada One TV that he believes the country must 鈥渃ombat bad speech with good speech, not with censorship, but with good speech.鈥
He also spoke of bolstering a security fund for mosques and talked about combating Islamophobia through a stronger criminal justice response, part of a broader push by the Conservatives for tough-on-crime policies.
Earlier this year, Poilievre addressed long-standing allegations that the Canada Revenue Agency is discriminating against Muslim charities.
The agency 鈥渉as been abusing our Muslim charities and the immigration system has been discriminating against our Muslim immigrants,鈥 he said in a video shared by the Muslim Association of Canada.
The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency announced in March it would be investigating allegations of bias and Islamophobia at the CRA.
Saleha Khan said she believes Poilievre is using the debate around LGBTQ+ issues in schools to his advantage. She also worries the surrounding rhetoric could ultimately bring more harm to the community.
The London, Ont., woman and nearly 700 other people, many of whom are members of the Muslim Canadian community,have asked in an open letter that their leaders 鈥渉elp separate fact from fiction鈥 by speaking out about misinformation they see fuelling a lot of the discourse, placing both Muslim and LGBTQ+ students at risk, as well as those who identify as both.
She said the debate is 鈥済ut-wrenching鈥 and risks making life even more dangerous for average Muslim families and their children, who already experience Islamophobia and live their life under high alert.
鈥淲e will become the poster children for transphobia and homophobia when we are not the poster children for homophobia and transphobia.鈥
In the Ramadan interview with Canada One TV, Poilievre acknowledged that his party has done a lousy job of fostering better ties.
He pledged to be different.
鈥淚鈥檓 coming here with my hand extended in a spirit of friendship,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the duty of the Muslim community to come to us. It鈥檚 our duty to come to you.鈥
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.
Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press
