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Toronto Liberal MP Salma Zahid looks at her car which was set on fire overnight in her Scarborough, Ont., home’s driveway on Thursday.Arlyn McAdorey/The Globe and Mail
On a leafy Scarborough, Ont., street early Thursday morning, there was a muffled explosion, as two cars burst into orange flames.
A resident called 911 and raced outside to see the vehicles, parked in the driveway of the east Toronto home of Liberal MP Salma Zahid, burning.
Toronto Police said they are investigating the incident, which also damaged a third vehicle, as a suspected arson. Police have not said whether they believe the alleged attack was targeted.
Speaking to reporters outside her home on Thursday afternoon, Ms. Zahid said the car fires have made her concerned for her family’s safety.
“It’s a lot for what my family and myself are going through because we have not been able to sleep,” said Ms. Zahid, who was first elected in 2015 and represents the riding of Scarborough Centre-Don Valley East.
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In response to Thursday’s incident, Ms. Zahid said she closed her Toronto constituency office for the day as a safety measure.Arlyn McAdorey/The Globe and Mail
Melted glass littered the concrete beside the charred cars, one of which belongs to Ms. Zahid.
There were no injuries resulting from the fires, Toronto Police spokesperson Stephanie Miceli said in an e-mail.
Ms. Zahid said she submitted videos to police from her home security camera and neighbours’ security cameras that showed a person dumping gasoline on “four or five cars” and lighting two on fire.
In response to Thursday’s incident, Ms. Zahid said she closed her Toronto constituency office for the day as a safety measure.
“We will wait for the investigation results. But such attacks are unacceptable and will not deter me from my work serving Scarborough Centre-Don Valley East,” she wrote in a statement on social media.
Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the suspected arson.
“This is a cowardly act of violence and intimidation. It is unacceptable. It is not who we are as Canadians,” Mr. Carney said on social media.
Last night, MP Salma Zahid’s car was set on fire outside of her home in Scarborough.
This is a cowardly act of violence and intimidation. It is unacceptable. It is not who we are as Canadians.
I’m relieved Salma and her family are safe. The Toronto Police have my full support… https://t.co/0jLhnyXsqv
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 27, 2026
In an online statement, the National Council of Canadian Muslims said it is “shocked, horrified, and disgusted” by the incident.
“While she remains resilient and brave as ever, we know many in our community are deeply alarmed given MP Zahid’s years of passionate advocacy for human rights and against all forms of racism,” the group said.
In 2018, Ms. Zahid became the first member of Parliament to wear a hijab in the House of Commons.
The MP’s neighbour, Victoria Konstantellos, said she saw the blazes from her window. She woke up her mother, called 911 and raced outside to see the two cars in Ms. Zahid’s driveway engulfed in fire at 1:21 a.m.
She banged on her neighbours’ doors and screamed to rouse them from their sleep. Ms. Konstantellos said her biggest fear was the risk of flames spreading from the cars to the homes.
“It’s disturbing to know that someone allegedly set this deliberately. But everyone is safe and that’s the most important thing,” the 24-year-old said.
It’s the second time in nearly two years that a vehicle was allegedly set ablaze in front of a home on Ms. Zahid’s street. The 2024 case, which occurred outside an address a few houses away from the MP’s, is still being investigated, police said.
Parvinder Singh owns one of the other vehicles allegedly torched that morning. Police didn’t confirm who owned the third vehicle.
He woke up to hearing his name being called and his neighbour saying that his car was burning outside.
Once Mr. Singh quickly left his basement apartment, which is attached to Ms. Zahid’s home, he couldn’t bear to look at the burning car because he had an “emotional connection” to it.
“My head went blank. I thought I was still dreaming,” the 23-year-old said. “It’s an unimaginable moment.”
The level of threats and abuse faced by MPs across all parties has spiked in recent years.
Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonell previously told a House of Commons standing committee that the number of security files his office opened related to threatening behaviour directed at MPs climbed from eight in 2019 to 530 in 2023. Threats and harassment against federal politicians also increased by 700 per cent in the same time frame, he said in 2024.
Female MPs in particular have been targeted with abuse and death threats.
In 2022, a man approached and aggressively harassed former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland in rural Alberta, and called her a traitor who should leave the province.
Liberal MP Iqra Khalid said in 2024 that people have spat at her and made threats against her life. Members of a right-wing extremist organization had stalked her office and shared her address, she said, as well as videotaped her as she walked around her community.
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Former environment minister Catherine McKenna spoke out when she was in office about the threats and harassment she received both online and in person, which led her to request additional security.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme has suggested the federal government should consider drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.
An internal RCMP briefing note in 2024 warned the demands of protecting parliamentarians and other public figures was placing “significant strain” the national police force’s personnel and was taking resources from other federal policing priorities.
RCMP estimates from 2025 said the number of threats against public officials across the country increased from approximately 1,300 in 2022 to 2,600 in 2023 – and was projected to exceed 3,500 in 2024.