The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC) launched a policy handbook Thursday on Islamophobia in Canada, urging the federal government to strengthen protections for Muslim communities and implement long-standing recommendations to combat anti-Muslim hate.
"Five years ago, our London family was murdered in a hate-motivated attack, simply because they were Muslim," CMPAC Executive Director Khaled Alqazzaz said at a news conference in Ottawa, referring to the June 6, 2021 attack that killed four members of the Afzaal family in London, Ontario.
Noting that the deadly attack was not "an isolated tragedy," Alqazzaz said "it exposed the reality that Muslim communities across Canada have long warned about."
He said that Islamophobia is not limited to individual incidents, but is also embedded in broader social and institutional systems that continue to harm Muslim communities.
"Despite years of studies, consultations, and public commitments, Muslims in Canada continue to face discrimination, harassment, violence, and unequal treatment," he added.
Alqazzaz said the handbook draws on parliamentary reports, academic research and government studies and lays out recommendations including stronger protections for mosques and Islamic schools, dedicated federal funding streams and improved accountability within public institutions.
Asked about the federal government’s decision to replace the special representative on Islamophobia with an advisory council, he said expectations remain high for meaningful action.
"So when the Prime Minister (Mark Carney) dismantles the office and replaces it with the advisory council, we have even higher expectations from the new council to address Islamophobia in a real and direct way," he said.
Justice For All Canada Executive Director Taha Ghayyur said anti-Muslim violence is driven by a global ideology that transcends borders and connects multiple attacks worldwide.
"The same ideology that inspired the attack on the Afzaal family was present when six worshippers were murdered at the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec City in 2017," he said.
He added that similar patterns were visible in attacks in New Zealand and the United States.
"Different countries, different perpetrators, different circumstances, but a common thread is the dehumanization of Muslims," he said.
He pointed to Statistics Canada data showing hate crimes targeting Muslims rose by 94% in 2023, while overall hate crimes have more than doubled since 2019.
"These are not just the statistics. Behind every one of these numbers is a person, a child afraid to wear hijab, a family worried about attending the mosque, a community wondering whether they truly belong," he said.
Ghayyur also cited "white supremacy," transnational hate and foreign interference as contributing factors, naming India and China in response to questions about governments linked to persecution of Muslim minorities.
New Democratic Party House Leader Heather McPherson said Muslim communities across Canada continue to face discrimination, intimidation and vandalism, including attacks on mosques in several cities.
"Muslim Canadians report ongoing discrimination, intimidation, exclusion and the need for heightened security," she said.
She added that Canada must do more to address all forms of hate, including Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism and anti-Sikh racism.
The 30-page handbook, published Thursday in commemoration of the Afzaal family, drew on academic research, parliamentary reports and governmental studies to address the rise of Islamophobia in Canada.
It outlined four main recommendations: implementing existing parliamentary guidance, strengthening security for Muslim communities and places of worship, addressing structural Islamophobia within regulatory systems, and investing in education and community engagement.
The handbook called on all levels of government to move beyond symbolic recognition and take concrete action to protect Muslim Canadians.
Three generations of the Pakistani-origin Afzaal family were killed when a pickup truck plowed into them as they walked on a road in London.
The victims were Salman Afzaal, a 46-year-old physiotherapist; his wife, Madiha, 44, who was working on her doctorate in engineering at London’s Western University; their daughter, Yumna, a 15-year-old honor-roll student, and Salman’s mother, Talat, 74, the family matriarch.
The sole survivor was the couple's 9-year-old son.
Nathaniel Veltman was convicted in 2023 of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Prosecutors described the attack as an act of terrorism motivated by white nationalist ideology.
