Andrew Phillips
Toronto Sun, Dec. 15, 2023
“During the current conflict Muslim MPs, including Liberals, spoke out in favour of a ceasefire before the government shifted its position. And a group representing Muslim donors to the Liberal party, called Network 100, publicly withdrew its support because the government had not heeded those calls for a ceasefire.”
There are lots of possible explanations for why Canada tilted away from Israel on the Gaza conflict this week by backing a UN resolution calling for a “sustained ceasefire.”
There’s even a theory that Washington gave Canada, Australia and New Zealand a quiet nod to shift their positions as a way of pressuring the Israeli government to restrain the bombing campaign that has killed so many Palestinian civilians.
But the Trudeau government surely didn’t need much encouragement to move in that direction, and it didn’t necessarily have to do with geopolitical calculations. You only have to look at changing demographics in this country and their far-reaching political implications.
To be specific: since the last time there was a major flare-up in the endless Israel-Palestine conflict, back in the late 2000s when Hamas took control of Gaza and Israel waged war against it, Canada’s Muslim population has grown remarkably both in numbers and in influence.
Any government — particularly a Liberal one that has benefited from Muslim votes since it was first elected in 2015 — would have to take note. And clearly, this one has.
This can be touchy territory, so let’s specify a couple of things upfront.
There’s nothing wrong with any community, including Muslims, organizing to maximize their political impact. That’s as Canadian as butter tarts. Virtually every group has done it — from the English and Irish to francophone Quebecers, Ukrainians, Italians, Sikhs, you name it. … [To read the full article, click here]
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