'Hey turban head, go home': Sikh politician Hardeep Grewal says 'fight against hate far from over' in Canada

Ontario MPP Hardeep Grewal recounted an encounter on X on October 6, writing, “Today in downtown Muskoka, while sharing ice cream with my family, two strangers decided to share their hate instead. One yelled, ‘Hey turban head, go home,’ before speeding off. Another, walking by, said, ‘You all should die.’ In that moment, I was reminded that the fight against hate is far from over.”

“It is not the first time this has happened, but today I feel compelled to speak out about how exhausting and painful it is,” he said, describing the experience as one that reflected a larger problem. “To my Sikh brothers and sisters, stay vigilant, stay proud, and stay strong. Hate never wins. Good will always triumph.”

The incident took place in Muskoka, a scenic township in central Ontario, and comes amid growing concern over rising hate directed at Indian immigrants, especially Sikhs, across Canada.

Late in September, Mississauga residents discovered racist graffiti reading “Indian rats” near a children’s park -- part of what many say is an emerging trend of hostility toward the Indian community, one of the largest and most visible immigrant groups in the country, reported Hindustan Times.

According to HT, Naresh Chavda, founding director of the National Alliance of Indo-Canadians (NAIC), blamed “the influence of the anti-immigrant measures adopted by the Administration of US President Donald Trump” for the spread of racism in Canada. He said it was “unacceptable” that “not a single politician, including Mississauga’s Mayor Carolyn Parrish had condemned the ‘India rats’ signs.”