The conflict in the Middle East could be affecting the next federal election already

Six months after Hamas's deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel — during which nearly 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage — and the start of a war that has since claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Gazan civilians, Canadian political parties have been forced to navigate difficult issues raised by a bloody conflict that has deeply divided the electorate.

5 months agoConservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, asked about civilian deaths in Gaza, said Israel has the right to defend itself and Hamas is 'in violation of international law by using human shields.'

"Where the NDP and the Conservative Party have staked out pretty unequivocal ground, the challenge is very much for the federal Liberals, where they are taking a stance that is trying to walk a line that is clearly not necessarily satisfying anybody," she said.

The Jewish community in the riding (Mount Royal, currently represented by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather) is large enough to have a significant influence over the outcome of the local contest.

Yudin said the Jewish community "is still reeling" from the decision by all but three Liberal MPs to vote for an amended version of the NDP's motion on the conflict in the Middle East, and is alarmed by the rise in antisemitism in Canada.

Nadia Hasan, an assistant professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at York University who worked in the past as an adviser with the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said she was struck by how little there was in Poilievre's speech about the Palestinian death toll in Gaza and his position on the Israeli government's actions.