Harassment and Hate on the Municipal Campaign Trail

According to a 2025 CPAC poll , half of Canadians aged 18 to 29 turn to social media for news. This includes coverage of B.C.’s municipal elections set for Oct. 17 — not to mention the provincial election one week later on Oct. 24.

But not only are younger adults less likely to consume news from traditional news media outlets; they’re also less likely to vote in municipal elections.

So if candidates want to get their message across to the people least likely to vote, they have to be active on social media.

The platforms provide users the opportunity to air their legitimate policy critiques. But they also let users leave anonymous harassing, hateful comments on a candidate’s race, body, accent, religion, gender, sexuality, mental health, past use of substances, income level or other characteristics.

Kareem Allam, who is running for mayor with the Vancouver Liberals, said he expected to face harassment on the campaign trail. A veteran political campaigner, helping everyone from current Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim to former Surrey mayor Dianne Watts and former BC United leader Kevin Falcon win their respective elections, Allam thought he had seen the worst online harassment could get.

There has been plenty of fair criticism online of his policies, or the fact that Allam is responsible for the successful ABC Vancouver majority win in the 2022 municipal election, including Sim’s successful mayoral run.

But Allam wasn’t expecting the level of hate he said has been aimed at him for being Muslim or having parents who are from Sudan and Egypt.

The harassment really ramped up, Allam told The Tyee, after the recent successes of famous Muslim American candidates such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed — and after Allam did his own campaign interview , shared on social media, with Muslim Stand for Rights, or MSFR.ca, a Vancouver-based Muslim non-profit foundation.

“It had a much more profound impact on me and my sense of belonging, of my standing in my community, my own sense of self-perception and agency,” Allam said of the hateful comments he received, which he said have included racist slurs.

“Someone who has been around as long as I have, you would have suspected I would have been more prepared. But the levels of harassment have escalated beyond anything I’ve seen.”

Allam is not alone. He said several Vancouver Liberals candidates, including two new mothers just a few months postpartum, have been harassed online for their appearance, gender, religion and race.

Allam has also heard from candidates in other parties who have been subjected to online harassment for similar reasons. He’s also seen the Islamophobic and racist comments left on campaign videos for Muhammad Ahmad, who is also Muslim and running for Vancouver mayor with the Bright Future Vancouver party.

It’s not a new issue in Canadian politics, nor is it limited to campaigns. Elected officials, particularly women , LGBTQ2S(IA)+ people and racialized people , have long reported the increasing levels of harassment they experience.