A network representing prominent Muslim donors to the Liberal Party of Canada drops out of the party’s ranks due to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s reluctance to call for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas conflict. CBC News reported.
In a formal letter sent to party president Sashit Mela on Nov. 27, the group, which calls itself the London-Ottawa-Montreal network 100-GTA and says it has 400 members, reiterated to Trudeau: He said he had called for a ceasefire.
“Leaders do not seem interested in truly listening, in giving real value to international law, or in truly caring about the children of Gaza,” the group said. It is with heavy hearts that we must leave the Laurier Club.”
“The idea that this situation will all be forgotten in two years is an extremely dangerous and unwise strategy for the party. The scale of the humanitarian loss is truly unprecedented.”
The donor group is mostly made up of Canadian Muslim professionals such as lawyers and doctors. The group, formed in December 2014, supported Justin Trudeau’s first victory in the 2015 election.
The group says it has directed hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to the Liberal Party since December 2014. One member of the group, whose donation records were confirmed by Elections Canada to CBC News, has donated nearly $19,000 to the Liberal Party since the group’s founding.
The Laurier Club is a top tier of Liberal Party donors. The party’s website states that members must contribute at least $1,700 annually to be eligible to join the club.
On November 14, Prime Minister Trudeau delivered his harshest criticism of Israel since the war with Hamas began. He called on the country to exercise “utmost restraint.”
“The world is witnessing the murder of women, children and infants, and this must stop,” he said at a press conference at the time.
This earned him a rebuke on social media from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Trudeau also reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people.
Since then, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has announced that Israel has killed more than 17,000 people in its military response. The estimates were not analyzed separately for civilians and combatants. Most of those killed were under the age of 18. Public health experts told Reuters that Hamas had accurate population counts before the conflict.
Network members meet with Prime Minister Trudeau and Prime Minister Telford
Some Network 100 members spoke directly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his chief of staff, Katie Telford.
Other network members participated in a virtual meeting with Mr. Mehra on December 5th.
One prominent Canadian Muslim who has been organizing the party for many years told CBC News that during the meeting, “the Liberal Party should not expect our community to forgive and forget” to Mehra.
Organizers spoke to CBC News on condition of anonymity and said they had agreed not to publish the contents of the closed-door meeting.
Organizers said their conversation with Mr Mehra was “extremely tough” and difficult for members of the network as they consider him an “old friend”.
“We are trying to implore Mr. Sachit to realize the train wreck in front of us,” the organizers said.
Organizers said they would have Mr. Mehra deliver donor messages to the prime minister’s office and give Mr. Trudeau until January to respond.
An organizer who calls himself a founding member of Network 100 said the group may need to consider escalation if Trudeau doesn’t start calling for a ceasefire.
Next steps include telling certain Liberal MPs that they will support either the NDP or Green Party candidate in a particular election because both parties are calling for a ceasefire. Organizers said it was possible.
CBC News published the names of the organizers through Elections Canada’s database.Organizers alone have donated over $20,000. The group has been donating to the Liberal Party since December 2014, when it began its donation drive.
If all members of the group were to break away from the Liberal Party, the party could face a shortfall of at least $680,000 a year. The party raised $14.5 million last year, according to Elections Canada.
Organizers who spoke to CBC also said the group may continue to support individual Liberal MPs who have publicly called for a ceasefire.
They also said the party could lose more than money. Organizers say the Muslim community strongly supported Prime Minister Trudeau in 2015, and Network 100 encouraged people to go door-to-door.
Organizers say a lot could change for Liberal candidates in southern Ontario’s key campaign if the 1,000 campaign volunteers so far decide to stay home.
Protests in Canada are increasing pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call for a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza rises.
Mohammad Aboukasem, another member of Network 100, told CBC News that he has lost confidence in Trudeau and that changing the prime minister’s position on the ceasefire now is unlikely to mend the rift. .
“We believed in the promise that Justin Trudeau was marketing as a brand in 2014,” Abokasem said, adding that Trudeau’s stated commitment to human rights and Canada’s presence on the international stage He cited the recovery of
“We’re not asking him to take sides. I don’t want him to support the Palestinians or the Jews. It doesn’t matter. It’s about us as human beings. It’s a matter of civilian casualties,” Abokasem said.
“I can’t sleep at night thinking about it [that]By the time you go to sleep and wake up, at least 50 Palestinians have been killed on the ground,” he said, adding that he fled Gaza as a child with his family as refugees.
Bad timing for the Liberal Party.
The move by Network 100 comes at a critical time for the Liberal Party, which has trailed the federal Conservatives in polls for months in a row. Most polls currently show that Pierre Poièvre’s Conservative Party would win if the election were held now.
Shachi Karr, director of the Angus Reid Institute, said the Liberal Party could not afford to lose support among the Muslim masses in this situation.
“That increases the pressure. It increases the continuity and certain combinations of pressure even more,” she said.
“Canada’s Muslim diaspora tends to lean more to the left than to the right, and tends to have higher levels of support for the Liberals than the Conservatives. However, if the X factor is present, the NDP could pick up or take back There is some electoral support from the Liberal Party on this issue.
“Perhaps the Prime Minister is not making everyone as happy as he would like.”
The Liberal Party did not respond to specific questions about Canada’s relationship with Muslims in its statement.
“Canadians choose to donate to political parties for a variety of reasons, including supporting a particular cause or policy position,” wrote Parker Rand, the party’s communications director.
“The Liberal Party of Canada is supported by individual Canadians who give generously what they can to build a better future for everyone, and we are committed to engaging our constituents on our priorities as we continue to move forward.” We are working hard.”
