Harper courts Muslim voters

OTTAWA — This spring, 21 Toronto-area imams used a Friday sermon for a singular message — the need for Muslims to vote in the federal election this fall.

The decision to make the unprecedented political pitch — imams generally shy away from politics — was spurred by new research showing a record half million Muslims are now eligible to cast a ballot.

So, the prime minister’s decision last week to host an iftar, the meal that breaks the daily Ramadan fast, was seen as an acknowledgment the potential heft of the community isn’t going unnoticed by politicians either.

That the acknowledgment came as part of Ramadan was significant, said Ihsaan Gardee, the executive director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

“Nonetheless, the iftar event certainly came as a surprise given the track record of rhetoric and action that has alienated and marginalized Canadian Muslim communities.”

A perceived failure to reach out to Muslims in the wake of the jihadi-linked October 2014 attacks — including one on Parliament Hill — as well as the debate over wearing face coverings at citizenship ceremonies are two issues casting a pall over the relationship between the Conservatives and the Muslim community.

But while turnout among the Muslim community is believed to be lower than the rest of the population, if the numbers increase this October, Muslims could influence the results in 23 ridings, most in the highly coveted Greater Toronto Area. (Beyond the 16 in Ontario, five are in Quebec and two are in Alberta.)

Conservatives managed to capture many of those ridings in 2011 to nab their majority victory and some privately acknowledge their relationship with Muslims may be in need of repair before this fall’s vote.

But traditionally, polls suggest most Muslim voters haven’t historically been onside with the Conservatives anyway. A 2011 online poll by Ipsos Reid suggested 46 per cent of Muslims who cast a ballot in that year’s election voted for the Liberals, while 38 per cent voted NDP.