Canada's Opposition leader condemns 'hateful comments' targeting Hindus, highlights their 'invaluable contribution'

Canada’s Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has condemned the “hateful comments” targeting Hindus in Canada. He stated that Hindus have made “invaluable contributions” to every part of Canada and added that the Hindu community “will always be welcome here.” Conservative leader Poilievre said that each Canadian deserves to live without fear in the country. His remarks come after Gurpatwant Singh Pannun , chief of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistan organisation banned in India in 2019, in a viral video, threatened Hindus of Indian origin and asked them to leave Canada. In a post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, Poilievere said, “Every Canadian deserves to live without fear and feel welcomed in their community. In recent days, we have seen hateful comments targeting Hindus in Canada. Conservatives condemn these comments against our Hindu neighbours and friends. Hindus have made invaluable contributions to every part of our country and will always be welcome here.”

Every Canadian deserves to live without fear and feel welcomed in their community.

In recent days, we have seen hateful comments targeting Hindus in Canada. Conservatives condemn these comments against our Hindu neighbours and friends. Hindus have made invaluable contributions…

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) September 22, 2023

Poilievre tweet comes amid strain in India-Canada relations after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday alleged that the Indian government was behind the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India, was gunned down in Canada’s Surrey on June 18. India has rejected Trudeau’s allegations and called them “absurd and motivated.” On Wednesday, Indian nationals, students in Canada and those planning on travelling to the country were advised to exercise caution, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. India on Tuesday expelled a senior Canadian diplomat to India in a reciprocal move to Canada expelling a senior Indian diplomat. Meanwhile, Canada’s opposition leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday said that Trudeau should come out clean with all the facts in order to make judgements. In a media address on Tuesday, Poilievre said, “I think the prime minister needs to come clean with all the facts. We need to know all the evidence possible so that Canadians can make judgments on that. Poilievre’s remarks came in response to a media query that asked what more should be done as an Indian diplomat was expelled by Canada. “The prime minister hasn’t provided any facts. He provided a statement. And I will just emphasize that he didn’t tell me any more in private than he told Canadians in public. So we want to see more information,” Poilievre said. He stated that the allegations could be found untrue or uncredible if more information is not provided. “We need to have the evidence that drew that allowed the prime minister to come to the conclusions he made yesterday,” he said. “I would have to have more evidence to make a judgment on that. I do find it interesting that he knew about vast foreign interference by Beijing for many years, at the same time as Beijing had kept two Canadian citizens hostage. And he said nothing. And he did nothing. Just very interesting that that was the approach he took in that case,” he added. Notably, Pierre Poilievre, the Opposition Conservative Party leader is the preferred choice as Prime Minister by 40 per cent of Canadian citizens, as incumbent Justin Trudeau lags behind, according to a new Ipsos poll done for Canada-based news platform Global News. The gap between Poilievre leaders gives an indication that Conservatives have high chance of getting a majority to form the government in the next elections in 2025 reports Global News. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s polling momentum continues to chug along with 40 per cent of Canadians saying he’s the best choice to be PM. His favourables on this question are up five points from a year ago.