#IVotePalestine 2025
As the federal election goes into final week frenzy, here is the wrap-up report for our campaign demanding to know if politicians stand for justice or for genocide. The paucity of progressive and principled clarity in this election cycle was appalling. We sent our questionnaire to all the major parties for their official response and were not surprised that most refused to answer. We were asking multiple tough questions about Zionism, genocide, the sham “terrorist list” and accountability – issues most politicians in Canada are not willing to touch. The noticeable exception was the Communist Party who did send an encouraging response that we highlighted in our third release.
We should mention the recent position of the NDP, especially in the debates where their leader Jagmeet Singh emphasized that the word genocide must be used to describe what is happening in Gaza. As Yves Engler pointed out: “...the electoral calculation has finally become clear to him and the party. Better late than never and everyone campaigning against genocide deserve praise.”
We remain skeptical of the NDP’s intentions, and question if their new-found “passion for Palestine” will continue (although we fervently wish it would). In 2019, the NDP sent positive answers to the first #IVotePalestine campaign, and then two months later, Jagmeet Singh proceeded to backtrack in a roundtable with CIJA.
We stated in the introduction to our 2025 questionnaire:
“We do not believe that any single election in Canada will substantially change policy on Palestine, but we do see the educational value in bringing these issues to the public and highlighting the overwhelming Canadian complicity in genocide. Yes, go to candidates in your riding and raise these crucial points, but also stay focused on organizing in our communities, on grassroots activism and on stepping up direct action campaigns going forward.”
On March 21, 2025, even before the election was called, we noted: “Engaging in electoral politics must not mean advocating for watered-down compromised demands. Make our demands count…for Palestine, for return, for liberation.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Full info here: Demand to know where politicians stand – for justice or for genocide! – Canada Palestine Association