As Canadians head to the polls today to decide whether Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party should retain power or if they should give the Conservatives the mandate to form government for the first time in nearly a decade, several Islamist groups have stepped up their efforts to solidify their influence over Muslim votes.
Muslim voters have the potential to influence anywhere between 60 to 80 federal ridings out of the 343 across Canada.
At least three organizations—Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC), Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and Greater Toronto for Palestine (GTP)— have registered as third parties registered with Elections Canada. (In Canada, the phrase “third party” refers to any individual or organization that is not a political party, candidate, or constituency association, but participates in political advertising).
With their population more than doubling since 2001, Canadian Muslims have become better organized and more influential. They are now nearly 1.8 million strong and constitute 4.9 percent of the Canadian population, which totals over 41 million, making them one of the most powerful voting blocs—a position that Islamists seek to leverage. According to The Canadian Muslim Vote (TCMV), which describes itself as a “nonpartisan organization that focuses on political education and civic engagement,” Muslim voters have the potential to influence anywhere between 60 to 80 federal ridings out of the 343 across Canada.
Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups in the mix
CMPAC’s agenda is particularly worthy of scrutiny, given its leadership’s apparent links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s largest and most influential Islamist organization. Designated a terrorist group by several Muslim-majority nations, including Jordan—which listed the group last week—the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to create a global caliphate by transforming and taking over Western societies. Ominously enough, according to George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, the organization has signaled its “unambiguous support” for the Taliban, which has deprived women of their rights in Afghanistan.
According to Elections Canada records, CMPAC was registered as a third party by its executive director Khaled Al-Qazzaz, who was foreign affairs secretary to long-time Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi when he was the president of Egypt from 2012 to 2013. Al-Qazzaz was detained in Egypt for nearly two years after Morsi was ousted from office by the Egyptian military. However, Egyptian authorities did not lay any charges or offer any explanation for his arrest. Al-Qazzaz recently wrote an article in the left-leaning Canadian newspaper, the Toronto Star, that appeared to whitewash Palestinian terrorism. Writing for Honest Reporting Canada, Mike Fegelman stated that Al-Qazzaz “did not share what exactly took place on Oct. 7,” and failed to address the hateful rhetoric promoted by anti-Israel protesters in Canada.
Al-Qazzaz is not the only figure at CMPAC with links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Several CMPAC board members have been identified with links to the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), the largest grassroots Muslim charity in Canada and an alleged Muslim Brotherhood affiliate. A January 2025 George Washington University’s Program on Extremism report titled “The Muslim Brotherhood in the West?” noted that “MAC is a very influential actor within Canada’s organized Muslim community and is open about being a Muslim Brotherhood legacy group, admitting it was founded by individuals linked to the Brotherhood and is inspired by the group’s ideology.” The report also pointed out that a 2023 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audit of MAC concluded that “the Organization (MAC) appears to conduct and support activities that further the advancement of the Muslim Brotherhood organization.”
While Yaser Haddara, the interim board chair of CMPAC, was a former vice-president and board member of MAC, his fellow CMPAC board member, Issam Saleh, currently serves as MAC’s Director of Community Engagement. Two other MAC-associated board members include Nimao Ali, a MAC school principal in Ottawa, and Mohammad Zahid, an instructor in MAC’s eLearning program on Islam. Both Ali and Zahid are slated to speak along with Al-Qazzaz at this year’s MAC convention.
While CMPAC has endorsed 47 Liberal, NDP and Green candidates via its MuslimsVote.ca platform, a joint endorsement statement issued by CMPAC earlier this month in partnership with four other Muslim advocacy organizations has unanimously backed 41 candidates. The statement encourages Muslim voters not only to exercise their franchise in favor of these candidates but also to support and volunteer with them. A March 2025 joint statement on the federal election mentions CMPAC’s fellow Canadian Islamist groups such as MAC, National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as co-signatories.
‘Islamophobia’ and Gaza on the ballot
As has been the feature in every election in the Western Hemisphere since the October 7, 2023 massacre, Islamist and pro-terror groups campaigned on two issues. First, they are intent on criminalizing “Islamophobia” (a grift peddled by the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1990s to suppress any criticism of Islam and Muslims). Second, they seek to undermine Israel’s ability to defend itself by promoting a ceasefire in Gaza that would leave Hamas in power. Nevertheless, the Government of Canada has listed CMPAC as one of go-to organizations in its “Resources for Combatting Islamophobia” section despite the group’s links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
While these Islamist groups claim to be merely guiding and empowering the Muslim community to vote on principles rather than partisan lines, the explicit promotion of their preferred parties and candidates suggested they had essentially canvassed Muslims to vote for those who would support their radical agenda.
For example, CJPME’s report card-styled Federal Election Guide 2025 gave the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Green Party the joint-highest grades for their consistent support on these issues while the Conservative Party received a failing grade. A popular campaign called Vote Palestine – backed by CJPME, CMPAC and the anti-Israel Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) – secured the full endorsement of 344 candidates from the following four federal parties: NDP, Green, Liberal and Bloc Québécois.
Although a ceasefire in faraway Gaza was a top priority for many Canadian Muslim voters, the issue of “Islamophobia” at home in Canada wasn’t far behind. Islamist groups like the NCCM continue to pressure federal leaders to present a national strategy on combatting “Islamophobia” that would eventually result in outlawing giving offense to Islamists.
The advocacy campaign for “Islamophobia” has been effective. Despite anti-Jewish hate crimes surging by 670% in Canada since the October 7 attacks, the Liberal government released a guide last month for public and private Canadian institutions to “understand and combat Islamophobia.”
Islamophobia Czar’s Job at Stake?
Depending on the outcome of the election, the controversial Amira Elghawaby, who was behind the drafting of the guide in her role as Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia—a position created by former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 to appease his Muslim base—is under threat of losing her cushy, six-figure job. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has suggested that he is likely to abolish the position should he form a government. Poilievre has also promised to crack down on the anti-Israel protests and target those who commit antisemitic vandalism or ethnic and religiously motivated hate crimes by bringing in stricter laws, including deportations. Understandably, a Conservative government would pose a significant setback to the pressure tactics of Islamists seeking to infiltrate and transform Canadian institutions and society.
Canada Revenue Likely Target
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is likely to remain a key target of Islamists as they attempt to avoid any scrutiny by law enforcement agencies. According to a 2024 Le Journal de Montréal news report, CRA authorities were concerned about MAC’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and the possible misuse of its resources by terrorist groups. Unsurprisingly, MAC has accused the CRA of “systemic bias” and “Islamophobia.” Should the Liberals win, they could potentially curtail CRA’s anti-terror-financing investigative powers significantly – a pledge senior leader Chrystia Freeland had made during the Liberal leadership race earlier this year.
The influential Muslim vote
For the past two decades, Canadian Muslims have largely voted for the Liberals. It is expected to be no different in today’s election. With plenty at stake both in Canada and the Middle East, Islamists have been working overtime in the hope that their favored party retains power so that the good times keep rolling for them for at least another four years.
