47model minority · reportageFEBRUARY 2018while receiving a government service.
It’s currently being challenged in court.
Quebec poses a problem for Jagmeet
electorally. “You don’t become the
governing party without winning lots
of seats in Quebec,” Bird told me. “It’s
a forgone conclusion.” Doing so will
be difficult for Jagmeet, whose public
display of religious identity is openly in
conflict with the spirit of the province’s
highly popular new law. A number of
the NDP’s own Quebec legislators have
declared that they are not comfortable
with their new leader’s appearance.
“Jagmeet Singh’s politics will not sell
as easily in Quebec,” Subramanian said.
“He’s a brown guy with a turban who is
not Christian.”
The province also poses a problem
for Jagmeet philosophically. His stance
on self-determination makes it far eas-
ier for Quebec to leave Canada should
it make another attempt to secede, in
turn making it easier for Quebec to pass
the kinds of discriminatory measures
against religious clothing that Jagmeet
opposes (the ultimate backstop against
religiously discriminatory bills in
Quebec is Canada’s supreme court). His
statements on self-determination have
raised eyebrows within Canada, includ-
ing from the editorial board of the
country’s most prominent newspaper.
More fundamentally, Quebec pres-
ents a challenge for Jagmeet’s inclusive
political project. The province has seen
a recent upsurge in right-wing activism,
particularly in response to the influx of
refugees. It is no stranger to majoritar-
ian extremism either. Last year, a white
college student shot up a mosque in the
provincial capital, killing six.
NDP activists are aware of the
shooting and the province’s history ofnon-accommodation. But they remain
ever optimistic, believing that Jagmeet
can persuade racially conservative
Canadians to change. To help his cause,
Jagmeet has released a video in French
where he explains how to properly don
a turban—complete with a demonstra-
tion. And his supporters cite his calm
and tolerant handling of the Islamo-
phobic heckler as evidence that he can
handle racism with political grace.
“It’s the type of radical empathy that
only he is capable of,” Dhaliwal said.
Given Jagmeet’s party and his ap-
pearance, winning will be an uphill
fight. But his very presence in politics
has younger progressives excited.
“If Jagmeet were to run in the next
election and lose, I don’t think you can
call the movement a failure,” Girn said.
But if he won?
“It would be incredible.” s