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Many people have studied issues of group identity. Many – we among them – believe it is healthy that individuals discover and take pride in their backgrounds. It is also good that they identify injustices and strive to see them corrected. It is right to be proud of one’s heritage, as Singh is.

What is unhealthy is when politicians reinforce differences. Modern political parties are sophisticated at identifying minority pockets to whom they can direct specific promises. This may take the form of official apologies, cash for niche programs, blanket endorsements of causes popular in a certain community. Example: In the 2014 British Columbia election, a Liberal party email was discovered describing how the party could get a “quick win” with voters if it apologized for the Chinese head tax and the Komagata Maru affair.

Into this political culture arrived both Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau. Proud of being Sikh, Singh seems to have been hyper-sensitive to alienating this perceived NDP voting block by offending anyone, even the small number who support violence. He temporarily mislaid common values of right and wrong, though he now appears to have regained his senses. Meanwhile, Trudeau, in an attempt to appeal to the same community, padded off to the Golden Temple last month for a photo op.

This determination to exploit identity politics for the sake of one’s own party eventually bites political leaders. It also hurts individual Canadians, by polarizing them from “others” who may in fact share their values and be willing to work together. Canada should be a society that strives to correct wrongs without turning groups into political props. That lesson has just been reinforced for Mr. Singh. Others, we hope, will learn it too.