Statement | Oct 9, 2026
On Equal Access to Places of Worship During the 2026 Municipal Election
Places of worship are the heart of Toronto’s communities. They should never become a stage for one candidate and a closed door for another.
It has come to our attention that on October 9, 2026 (28 Rabi’ al-Thani 1448), at around 2 p.m., in the middle of the advance voting period, Mayor Olivia Chow was welcomed to speak inside the Islamic Society of Toronto - Darus Salaam, 20 Overlea Boulevard, in the Thorncliffe Park area, the same masjid I pray in, in my own neighbourhood, and that her campaign flyers were handed out inside the prayer space. I do not object to any candidate meeting with Muslim Torontonians. Our community deserves to be heard by everyone seeking to lead this city.
What I object to is the double standard. When I ran for Mayor a couple of years ago, I was threatened with the police and insulted at that same mosque simply for handing out my flyers outside it. I was not invited in. I was told to leave.
A Muslim woman running for Mayor should not be treated with less dignity by her own community’s institutions than the people she is running against. When the doors open for the powerful and close for one of our own, the message to our young people is clear: you can vote, you can donate, but you cannot lead.
Equal treatment is also a legal expectation. Religious institutions that are registered charities may invite candidates, but only if every candidate is given the same opportunity. Hosting one and excluding another is not neutrality.
I am calling on every mosque, church, synagogue, temple and gurdwara in Toronto to adopt a simple standard for this election: if you open your doors to one candidate, open them to all of them, on the same terms.
An email has been sent to the Islamic Society of Toronto - Darus Salaam requesting the same equal opportunity Mayor Chow received, an acknowledgment of how I was treated, and a formal apology. I hope they will respond in good faith.
Toronto is strongest when everyone has a fair chance to be heard, including Muslim candidates and Muslim women.
Dr. Bahira Abdulsalam, PhD, P.Eng.
Candidate for Mayor of Toronto.
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