WINNIPEG — Winnipeg’s Muslim and Indigenous communities are coming together Saturday to collectively raise their voices for a united, inclusive vision of Canada.
The rally is in reaction to fear-based campaigning they have seen during this federal election, “which sadly has come to characterize much of this fall’s national conversation,” organizers said in a press release.
The group plans to rally at the Legislature Saturday at 2 p.m.
This is the second rally planned this week for the same cause.
Last Tuesday, roughly 200 supporters spilled in to the Central Mosque on Ellice Avenue for the “My Canada Includes Muslims” rally.
READ MORE: Winnipeg group rallies for more inclusive Canada
“We care about diversity, we care about respecting people and the strengths that they bring to the country,” co-organizer Fiona Muldrew said.
Many people in attendance at the event said the niqab — the full face covering worn by a small number of Muslim Canadian women — has become a wedge issue in the campaign.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has said he is favour of prohibiting women from wearing the veil in citizenship ceremonies, while NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau have campaigned against such a ban.
There are about 15,000 Muslims living in Manitoba, 12,000 of them in Winnipeg, said a spokesperson for a local Muslim organization.
Visualization is based on Twitter data and should not be considered scientifically accurate. Data has been made available via a partnership with Twitter Canada.
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