Outgoing Ottawa MPP apologizes for 'inappropriate' post blasted as Islamophobic

An outgoing Progressive Conservative MPP in Ottawa is apologizing for a social media post that criticized one of the people vying for her seat — a message Muslim groups say was Islamophobic and that the MPP herself has now acknowledged was "inappropriate." 

Lisa MacLeod, the longtime MPP for Nepean, posted on X about Husien Abu-Rayash on Tuesday. He said Wednesday evening he is seeking the Progressive Conservative Party nomination for Nepean.

In one message, MacLeod shared a link to a page promoting Abu-Rayash along with the comment, "If you support Sharia Law … [your] Next PC Candidate for Nepean could be..."

MacLeod's post was referring to Shariah, the legal code of Islam.

In another post, MacLeod shared what appeared to be a message from Abu-Rayash's campaign. It said MacLeod did not support the Muslim community and "pushed pro-Israel policies." 

Abu-Rayash later clarified that the post MacLeod referenced was shared by a community member and was not endorsed by him. 

Both of MacLeod's posts have since been taken down. 

'Deeply disappointing' 

In his own post to X on Wednesday, Abu-Rayash said it was "deeply disappointing" that MacLeod "has chosen to interfere in Nepean's nomination process by spreading defamatory, hateful, and Islamophobic rhetoric against me."

Abu-Rayash included a libel notice to MacLeod, stating that he has not and does not advocate for Shariah law in Canada. Lawyer Mark Bourrie confirmed to CBC he is representing Abu-Rayash and sent the libel notice.

"Not only is this comment an attack on the religion of Mr. Abu-Rayash," the notice stated. "It is also a crude and heavy-handed attempt to defame him. It was posted by you to harm his chances of winning the Progressive Conservative nomination in Nepean as an extremist."

Abu-Rayash demanded an apology from MacLeod.  

"Lisa's interference has no place in this nomination," he said in his post. "It's time for her to step back and let the people of Nepean decide who their candidate should be."

Abu-Rayash told CBC via email that MacLeod's tweets "unleashed a flood of hate my way and facing Islamophobia head-on really hurts."

MacLeod's office did not respond to a request from CBC seeking an explanation of her posts.

Peter Turkington, director of communications for the Progressive Conservative Party, said Thursday her comments "were inappropriate and unbecoming of any elected official, and do not reflect the views of the Ontario PC Party."

But he also said Abu-Rayash "was disqualified from running as a candidate for being out of compliance with Elections Ontario guidelines."

CBC reached back out to both the party and Abu-Rayash for more information on the disqualification. An emailed reply from Abu-Rayash's team Thursday afternoon disputed that he'd been disqualified.

'Not my intention to mislead'

MacLeod posted an apology to her X account later on Wednesday.  

"While it was not my intention to mislead or hurt anyone, I recognize that my comments were inappropriate," according to the post.

"I have been on the receiving end of unfair comments myself and should have done better."

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) called MacLeod's comments "profoundly disappointing," while the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada urged Premier Doug Ford to remove her from the Progressive Conservative Party caucus.

MacLeod, a former provincial cabinet member, announced last year she is not seeking re-election in the next Ontario election, for which a date has not yet been called. 

"What makes it Islamophobic is assuming that there's a hidden agenda," said Fatema Abdalla of the NCCM, adding that the posts implied all Muslims or people with ties to Islam are inherently problematic.

Abdalla said NCCM is asking the premier to condemn and denounce the comments.

Mohamad Sawwaf, board chair of the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada, said MacLeod's posts took information out of context.  

"[She's] actually not understanding that Shariah law can't be introduced here in Canada," Sawwaf said. "This is actually used to spew hate and create division."

The premier's office did not respond to CBC's requests for comment.