Canadian Prime Ministerial candidate and leader of the country's third largest political party Jagmeet Singh was advised to cut off his turban to look more 'Canadian' by a voter. A video of the incident has gone viral.
A practising Sikh, Singh is seen telling the man that "Canadians look like all sorts of people", before shaking his hand. The man further says, "In Rome you do as Romans do". Singh, reiterating his point, says, "This is Canada, you can do like... whatever you like". Before Singh leaves, the voter tells him, "Alright, take care. I hope you win".
VIDEO of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh being confronted at Montreal's Atwater Market by someone who advised him that he should remove his turban. #cdnpoli #polqc pic.twitter.com/iNFQ4QGlmW — Debra Arbec (@DebraArbecCBC) October 2, 2019
Later, the political leader responded to the incident and said, "Many Canadians are told that we must change who we are to succeed. My message to you: do not change who you are. Everyone deserves his place."
Beaucoup de Canadien·nes se font dire qu'on doit changer qui nous sommes pour réussir. Mon message pour vous : ne changez pas qui vous êtes. Tout le monde mérite sa place. https://t.co/T8wDnfsNMi — Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) October 2, 2019
The politician was quoted by BBC as saying that he has faced racism and discrimination in the country, and that his focus was on moving beyond prejudice and highlighting shared values.
Jagmeet Singh is the first non-white leader of a major political party — the New Democratic Party — in the Canadian Parliament.
Quebec province of Canada had in June passed a legislation that prohibited those occupying offices of civil servants, teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols to work. However, numerous other municipal governments have opposed the bill.
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