Toronto Mayoral Candidate Bahira Abdulsalam Says First City Hall Motion Would “open Our Doors” to Gaza Families

Toronto mayoral candidate Bahira Abdulsalam is drawing attention for a campaign proposal that would put the war in Gaza — including welcoming families from Gaza to Toronto — on her agenda at City Hall.

Abdulsalam, a professional engineer who is among the 53 registered candidates seeking Toronto’s top job in the October 26 municipal election, has made Palestinian advocacy a prominent part of her public political activity.

In remarks circulating online, Abdulsalam outlined what she described as her “first motion” if elected mayor.

“So here is my first motion to the city hall, if elected as a mayor of the city of Toronto,” Abdulsalam said.

She then listed two components.

“First, disclose, show Torontonians what our city buys, who it buys from and measure this against the international law,” she said.

“Second, we open our doors for families grieving from Gaza and coming here to the city.”

The comments appear to suggest that Abdulsalam would seek to use municipal policy both to scrutinize Toronto’s purchasing relationships through the lens of international conflicts and to facilitate the arrival of families from Gaza.

It is important, however, to distinguish Abdulsalam’s wording from some of the descriptions of it circulating online. She did not explicitly declare bringing Gazan families to Toronto to be her “second-highest priority” as mayor. Rather, she listed it as the second component of what she called her proposed “first motion” at City Hall.

Palestine a Major Focus of Abdulsalam’s Advocacy

The remarks are not an isolated reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Abdulsalam maintains an extensive “Palestine Platform” on her political website, calling for a two-way Canadian arms embargo on Israel, an end to Canadian involvement with Israeli settlements, protection for pro-Palestinian and BDS activism, Canadian recognition of a Palestinian state and increased funding for Gaza relief efforts, including UNRWA.

Many of those issues fall primarily within the jurisdiction of the federal government rather than Toronto City Hall.

Abdulsalam has nevertheless indicated that she believes municipal government can play a role.

In recent campaign comments, she has said she wants to examine where Toronto spends its money and whether city resources or institutions contribute to overseas conflicts or what she considers systemic oppression.

At the same time, Abdulsalam has pushed back against efforts to characterize her candidacy as being primarily about her religion or the Palestinian cause.

In an August campaign statement, she said she is running “to serve every person who calls Toronto home” and identified housing affordability, public safety and government accountability among the issues motivating her campaign.

She has also said that she opposes antisemitism and does not consider criticism of Israel to constitute hostility toward Jewish people.

Engineer Facing Professional Disciplinary Proceedings

Abdulsalam’s political advocacy has also become the subject of an ongoing proceeding before Professional Engineers Ontario.

PEO’s Discipline Tribunal lists multiple hearing dates throughout 2026 in a case involving Abdulsalam, with additional hearings currently scheduled for October.

The proceeding has drawn attention over allegations concerning Abdulsalam’s social-media commentary about Israel and Zionism.

Abdulsalam has strongly challenged the case against her, arguing that a professional regulator is targeting political speech she made as a private citizen rather than anything relating to her competence or conduct as an engineer.

She has also responded to claims that her engineering licence has already been suspended, saying that this is false and that her P.Eng. licence remains in good standing while the disciplinary proceeding remains unresolved.

No final finding should therefore be inferred from the existence of the proceeding itself.

A Second Run for Mayor

This is not Abdulsalam’s first campaign for Toronto mayor.

She also ran in the crowded 2023 mayoral by-election that ultimately elected Olivia Chow, finishing 14th among 102 candidates.

Three years later, she is back on the ballot in another crowded mayoral field.

While Abdulsalam says her campaign encompasses bread-and-butter municipal concerns including housing, infrastructure, affordability and public safety, her proposal to “open our doors” to families from Gaza offers Toronto voters a particularly clear indication that international issues — and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict specifically — are likely to remain a visible part of her campaign.

For Toronto’s Jewish community, her candidacy may therefore attract considerably more scrutiny as the October election approaches.