As the furor over a call from bellicose U.S. Presidential hopeful Donald Trump to ban Muslims from America went global today, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said those who engage in hate-mongering on the basis of religion should be barred from entering Canada.

“I say we should limit access to Canada for people who are spouting hatred and we should make sure that Donald Trump stays out of Canada,” Mulcair told reporters.

“It is of course unacceptable to try to limit someone’s access to a free and democratic society on the basis of their religion,” said Mulcair. “What we learned yesterday is that a candidate for the presidency of the United States believes he can do just that – limit access on the basis of religion to the United States.”

Mulcair’s comments come after the Republican presidential front-runner called Monday for a total ban on Muslims entering the United States “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” In the past, Trump has called for surveillance of mosques and he has said he supports establishing a database of all Muslims in the U.S.

But while Trump’s comments were met with enthusiasm by his supporters, they have also been widely condemned.

Tuesday, Canadian political leaders were quick to join the ranks of Trump’s critics.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reacting to the uproar, declined to actually say Trump’s name.

“Canadians are very aware of my feelings on this,” he said. “And they, by the way, sided pretty clearly against the politics of fear and division in our election here.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said Trump should look north of the border where Canada has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadians rejected attempts to divide people along ethnic lines during the recent federal election.

“I want Canada to show that Canadians of different backgrounds and religions are able to build something great, to build on what is universal in every religion and every culture. It is what we want to show and hopefully this will be an inspiration for other countries, including our neighbor.”

Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose joined Dion and Mulcair in criticizing Trump.

“I don’t think I have to be a Conservative to condemn Mr. Trump’s remarks. They’re ridiculous comments and it’s up to the people of the United States to choose who their leader is or up to people in his party but I am sure that, by and large, even people in his party will think his comments are ridiculous.”

With files from CP

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