Canada’s disturbing pattern of anti-Muslim attacks

Canada is a vibrant multicultural society. The Great White North has become a shining example of a diverse democracy. It has established itself as a modern nation-state with a relatively altruistic, happy, optimistic population. But it also has a problem.

On Sunday, in the city of London in Ontario, four members of a Muslim family were killed in what police have described as a premeditated vehicle attack. Among those who died were two women (aged 74 and 44), a 46-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl. A nine-year-old boy is in hospital. Detective Superintendent Paul Waight said the victims were specifically targeted because of their ‘Islamic faith’.

The attack comes four years after Canadian Muslims were targeted in an attack at a Quebec City mosque in 2017, which left six people dead. The perpetrator, former Royal Canadian army cadet Alexandre Bissonnette, was known to have far-right, white-nationalist, and anti-Muslim views. 

These two attacks are heartbreaking tragedies for the Canadian Muslim population, which is predominantly based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.