Prime Minister visits Bradford for annual Muslim convention
Thousands have converged in the community of Bradford this weekend, including the Prime Minister, for one of the country's largest annual Muslim conventions.
The event is taking place on 10 Sideroad, on a piece of property organizers call a tent-city, outdoor environment, allowing for plenty of space to house the large gathering that has previously taken place in Mississauga. It is a chapter of a worldwide series of events.
"The annual convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada, which is happening here in Bradford, is just a series of these conventions that the founder of the community started, and we're still reaping the lessons from," says Safwan Chaudhry, a spokesperson.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the event Saturday afternoon. He delivered a message stressing the importance of inclusivity in Canada.
"An attack on Muslim Canadians is an attack on all Canadians. An intolerance, hatred, undermines everything that we have built in this country and mostly everything that we have continued to build," Trudeau said to the crowd. "So we have to continually step up and do more as a country. Canada is a place of openness and respect, and we have to keep it that way."
This is the first time the event, which happens in cities worldwide, has occurred in Bradford. Chaudhry says he's not sure if it will return annually but envisions the property will house some of the country's largest religious gatherings in the coming years.
"The founder of this community…said that this convention is unlike any other worldly convention," says Chaudhry. "It is a convention of increasing your spirituality, increasing togetherness, creating a bond with one another and also creating a sense of community, and if you think of it especially coming out of a pandemic, those are all the things that have been lacking."
The convention concludes Sunday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.