The heads of two Canadian Muslim groups say they will be watching carefully to see whether the gesture offered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a Ramadan iftar on Monday will result in a change in how the government talks about Muslims.

Although U.S. President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron have hosted their own iftars for years, Monday’s meal marked the first time Harper welcomed 40 members of the Muslim community into 24 Sussex to break their Ramadan fasts alongside members of his government. While the event was billed as aiming to honour the contributions of Muslim Canadians to the country, the leaders of two of the country’s biggest Muslim groups say the government’s track record of heated rhetoric makes them uncertain as to whether it will lead to concrete change in how officials talk about Muslims.

“This event certainly came as a surprise to many given the government’s record of action that has alienated, marginalized, many Canadian Muslim communities,” said Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims. “Given that it is election season, we hope that this event is not merely a vote-soliciting tactic but a real sign of change of tone and attitude.”

The government’s relationship with Canadian Muslims has grown increasingly fraught over the past year, as efforts to combat radicalization and the controversial debate over attempts to ban the niqab at citizenship ceremonies have come to the forefront of public attention.

Critics have accused the government of blaming Muslims for terrorism and of sowing fear and prejudice against them, and suggest the Conservatives are trying to use fear of ISIS-inspired violence as a cultural wedge issue to agitate the Tory base in an election year.

“While I hesitate to cry ‘politics’ on something that I see as a positive development, the limited nature and late timing of the gesture certainly lends itself to the perception that it was a pre-election campaign event – and not an earnest outreach to a community that desperately needs to see some more positive signals from the country’s political leadership,” said Shay Purdy, a consultant with Summa Strategies.

The calls for more positive messaging from the government aren’t new but for Canadian Muslims, the desire to change how their community is discussed and referenced in relation to issues like violent extremism has increased under the current government, one leader says.

“There haven’t been a lot of friendly statements from the government to Muslims,” said Alia Hogben, executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, noting that the government has to take responsibility for the deterioration of relations between officials and Canadian Muslims. “I don’t think it’s because of Muslims — it’s between the Prime Minister and his ministers.”

Hogben says when she first heard about the iftar, she wasn’t sure what the motivation was or whether it would result in any concrete change in how the government talks about Muslims.

Her organization will continue keeping a close eye on the government over the coming months to see whether it can talk the talk when it comes to healing the rifts it has caused, she says.

“My reaction, and our organization’s reaction, to it will be ‘wait and see,'” said Hogben.

Safwan Choudhry, spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Canada, said his organization hopes to see more gestures like the iftar coming from the government in the future.

“Our community deeply appreciates these positive gestures by the Prime Minister as they reflect a sense of respect for Muslims and Islamic practices,” he said. “We look forward to seeing similar efforts by the Prime Minister in the future to promote plurality, tolerance and religious acceptance.”

But Gardee says Canadian Muslims are not naive when it comes to examining the government’s motives and its track record.

His organization has been urging Canadians to pay attention to how their representatives — and those seeking to replace them — talk about issues like plurality and diversity in order to make informed decisions in the election.

“The reality is that this event is not occurring in a vacuum. It is an election year all candidates and political parties, including the Prime Minister and Conservative Party, are no doubt looking to burnish their credentials with voters from different communities and that includes Canadian Muslim communities,” said Gardee. “Alongside this initiative of Ramadan outreach, it’s our hope that the Prime Minister will tone down his government’s rhetoric in relation to Islam and Canadian Muslims and continue to be more inclusive of all Canadians, including those they may disagree with on policy issues.”

Hogben agreed, noting much will depend on what the government does next.

“Nice gesture,” she said, “but then what will follow? I suppose the government is going to go ahead and ban the niqab.”