While many Canadians look at the politics in the U.S. with confusion and frustration, a more informed reading of our Canadian context highlights our reality may be heading in a similar direction. Apart from the rise in right-wing and white supremacy groups, a general rise in animosity towards Muslims is growing. Silence by the political centre can lead us down the same road as our neighbours south of the border.

Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch has advocated screening immigrants for 'Canadian values.' (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) The Conservative Party, hiding bigotry under calls for free speech has fielded leadership candidates such as Kellie Leitch and Maxime Bernier, appealing to the worst form of identity politics on the backs and bodies of Canadian Muslims. Conversations about "Canadian values," free speech and a unified Canadian identity. This rhetoric is being pushed on many levels by the far right, racists, white supremacists and fascists, including groups such as Fédération des Québécois de Souche, Pegida, Soldiers of Odin and Canadian Coalition for Concerned Citizens, among others. It has led to an escalation of hate incidents and crimes against Muslims and many other communities across the country, according to National Council for Canadian Muslims. Unchecked Islamophobia is opening opportunities for other communities to be attacked. Fear and insecurity often seeks a bogeyman to blame - in today's Canada, the bogeyman's name is "Islam." The prime minister and Liberals, while acknowledging we have a problem with Islamophobia and advancing Motion 103, continues to push problematic legislation like C23 and not moving to address legislation created or pushed by the Harper government that unfairly targets Muslims (such as C51 and the Barbaric Cultural Practices Act). The government continues to allow Security Certificates and secret evidence to be used. Islamophobes have created a false narrative that all Muslims are immigrants, and therefore "foreign" to Canada and it's values. They then use the fear that immigrants are going to take jobs away and threaten Canadian safety, both of which are red herrings and ridiculous. Right now, approximately 25 per cent of people polled in a recent EKOS poll said that they feared losing their jobs. There has been a drop in people identifying themselves as being from the middle class from 67 per cent to 46 per cent, while 60 per cent of Canadians said that they would not be surprised to see violent class conflicts emerging in the future. None of these are connected to Islam or Muslims. Fear and insecurity often seeks a bogeyman to blame -- in today's Canada, the bogeyman's name is "Islam."