VANCOUVER—Donald Trump is partly to blame for the rise of xenophobia in Canada, said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as he continued his federal election campaign Monday.

At a luncheon for Chinese-Canadian media, held at East Vancouver’s iconic Pink Pearl restaurant that sprawls half a city block, Singh told reporters that Trump has emboldened hateful people and it’s having a negative impact on Canada.

Asked where he thought xenophobia in Canada is coming from, Singh didn’t shy away from criticizing Trump, who is facing possible impeachment.

“It’s complicated; there’s a lot of different causes,” he said.

“I think that some of the things that Mr. Trump has been saying have emboldened people who are hateful and said things that have emboldened people that have white nationalist beliefs.”

The event included nearly an hour of questions, followed by a dim sum lunch of spring rolls and dumplings.

Long-time NDP MPs Jenny Kwan and Don Davies sat on either side of Singh at the large round table. About 10 local reporters from outlets such as Fairchild, Ming Pao Daily News and Singtao Daily filled the remaining seats.

“You’ve been very critical of U.S. President Donald Trump,” said one reporter. “And (you are) maybe the only leader that has said that you’d like to see Trump impeached. So if you are elected, how are (you) going to deal with the U.S.-Canadian relationship?”

“It’s a very important relationship for Canada, a relationship I take very seriously,” Singh said.

“If it’s still Mr. Trump that’s in office, we know that Mr. Trump has used bullying tactics very regularly and has bullied to the detriment of Canadian workers ... The only way to stand up to a bully is to be strong, and I will be strong for Canadians.”

Canada-wide, incidents of hate and racism are on the rise. For example, in 2017 the number of hate crimes reported to police jumped 55 per cent in B.C. compared to two years earlier. The data, which comes from Statistics Canada, shows the crimes were largely motivated by race and ethnicity.

Singh also elaborated on other reasons for xenophobia in Canada.

“We also know that online there’s a lot of radicalization that has been happening, and one of our commitments is to tackle online hate,” Singh said.

“There is a lot of evidence mounting that on different platforms online there’s forums being used to encourage and incite hateful messages, so we have to tackle that.”

Part of the NDP’s platform is to convene a “national working group to counter online hate.”

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“Misinformation is also adding to it,” he said, explaining that negative campaigns are targeting people who are having trouble securing housing or jobs and telling them that new Canadians or refugees are to blame.

To address this, Singh said, “We need to hold social-media platforms to account.”

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