He also rebuked Quebec MP Pierre Nantel, a supporter who on Sept. 16 said he didn’t think Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh from Brampton, could connect with Quebec voters because he wears a turban.

“Jagmeet, you have a place in our party and you have a place in my Quebec,” said Caron.

Singh, wearing a blue turban, told reporters it was “really nice” of Caron to say those words to the membership.

“It was courageous of him,” Singh said. “The work he is doing as a candidate in Quebec is significant, not just for Quebec, but significant for our party.”

Singh didn’t directly respond to Nantel’s comments, saying, “I’m not concerned about challenges. Those are something I’ve faced my entire life.”

But he did say that Quebec residents will look at the candidate and not the turban.

During his speech, Singh also addressed the incident caught on video that has gone viral of a woman who heckled him at a recent rally believing he was a Muslim, saying he refused to say ‘I’m not Muslim’ to her because that would send the worst possible message.

“It has always been and will always be hate is wrong,” said Singh to the cheers of his supporters in the hall. “We stand united against all forms of hate.”

Singh, who would need to win a federal seat to sit in the House of Commons if elected leader, said he wants to establish a federal ban on racial profiling. That would include, he told reporters, proposing programs for the RCMP, border security and the public service to make sure racial profiling doesn’t happen.

He also addressed eliminating precarious employment and introducing a basic income program.

Manitoba MP Niki Ashton used her time to talk about “building a movement from coast to coast” that includes opposing all pipeline construction, rolling back tuition fees, creating a national child care program, and “creating a carbon-free economy.”

She also targeted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying he “lied” to the people, especially the youth who voted for him in the 2015 election, promising them electoral reform and a national housing strategy, but since then nothing has been done except providing them with selfies.

Northern Ontario MP Charlie Angus said there is a need for a national housing program, improving the lives of seniors, and helping to eliminate student debt.

He called on the federal government to push forward reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous population immediately.

“Reconciliation is not a hash tag,” he said.

Angus talked about meeting an older man at a Tim Hortons in South Porcupine, Ont., who told him he had to go back to the mines to make ends meet. He said his pension had been taken away from him after the corporation applied for credit protection under the country’s insolvency laws.

“He asked me, ‘Will you have my back?' ” said Angus.

The NDP’s estimated 124,600 members have begun voting online and by mail. The ranked ballot results will be announced Oct. 1. If a candidate doesn’t get 50 per cent plus one vote, the next ballot results will be announced Oct. 8 and a third ballot is scheduled for Oct. 15.



