Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (MPP) Jagmeet Singh, who eyes leadership of the New Democratic Party (NDP) was disrupted by an anti-Muslim protester, who mistook the Sikh MPP as Muslim and made hateful comments during an event in Brampton.
Footage of the incident shows Singh preparing to address an audience as part of an outreach event titled "Jagmeet and Greet," and was interrupted by a woman, who identified herself as Jennifer Bush.
"When is your Sharia going to end? We know you're in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood!" Bush told Singh, who did not allow the woman to provoke him.
The young politician told the audience that he does not want to be intimidated by hate or ruin a positive event by hatred.
"We welcome you, we love you, we support you" he told Bush, who ended up leaving the hall.
Sing released a statement on his Twitter account following the incident, saying that his ideology focuses on love and courage.
"Many people have commented that I could have just said I'm not Muslim. In fact many have clarified that I'm actually Sikh. While I'm proud of who I am, I purposely didn't go down that road because it suggests their hate would be ok if I was Muslim," Singh said, adding that his response to Islamophobia has never been 'I'm not Muslim.'
"Once allowed to grow, hate doesn't pick and choose, it spreads like fire. Once we say it's ok to hate someone based on their religion, we're also opening the door to hate based on race, gender, sexuality, and more."
Jennifer Bush also published a video on YouTube, saying that she knows Singh is not Muslim. She is a supporter of Rise Canada, which opposes Muslim prayer accommodations in Peel schools and has attended rallies and events with far-right groups such as Pegida.
Jagmeet Singh is currently running to become the national leader of the NDP and has been seen as a major opponent of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He was featured on GQ Magazine and attracts crowds where he goes.
Like the rest of the world, Islamophobia has become a problem in Canada. There has been a surge in Islamophobic attacks in the country and mosques have been targeted. In January, a gunman killed six people attending prayers at a mosque in the French-speaking Quebec City.
