A former Hamilton mayoral candidate wants his city to join three dozen others to proclaim December as Christian Heritage Month, despite some opposition on council to the idea.Grand Prairie, AB, and the Regional Municipality of York are the latest jurisdictions to declare Christian Heritage Month. Hamilton evangelist Solomon Davies Ikhuiwu wants his city to be next.“About 40 cities now have proclaimed December as Christian Heritage Month. We just felt like, ‘Wait a minute. Our city's not one of the 40 cities,’ and that broke my heart. So we've been pushing,” Ikhuiwu told the Western Standard in an interview.Ikhuiwu has been collaborating with Hamilton councillor Esther Pauls to get the declaration made in their city of 600,000 people. On Wednesday, December 11, council will vote on her motion to do so.“The question is, why not–Christianity being the oldest religion in Canada, right?” Ikhuiwu said. “53% of Canadians are Christian.”Ikhuiwu, the founder of God Heal Our Land, placed fifth out of nine mayoral candidates in the 2022 Hamilton election. Since then, he has organised two Christian events at Tim Horton’s Field where the Tiger-Cats play their Canadian Football League games. Ikhuiwu has also hosted five prayer events at Hamilton City Hall this year.“We've been praying for the city to be transformed because, of course, it's been said that Hamilton is the armpit of Canada… But we believe [Biblical King] David's declaration, ‘We will see the goodness of the Lord’ in Hamilton.”Ikhuiwu recently joined Sam Kunjicka and 900 other people who gathered to mark Christian Heritage Month in Brampton. Efforts by Kunjicka, a former candidate for councillor prevailed on Mayor Patrick Brown and council to first declare Christian Heritage Month in 2019..In recent months, Toronto realtor and Christian Music Festival CEO Molly Banerjei has led successful efforts to have cities acknowledge the month in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. The province of Saskatchewan did so on December 4..Saskatchewan and Calgary to declare December as Christian Heritage Month.Not all Hamilton city councillors are warm to the idea. The Western Standard acquired a screenshot of a message from Coun. Ted McMeekin to one pastor who supported the idea.McMeekin write, "The City of Hamilton has a policy of NOT endorsing a month in favour of any cause. The Federal government often does. You might want to focus your efforts on the Feds through your local Mwmber [sic] of Parliament."The response did not ring true to Ikhuiwu."Hamilton is one of the cities that supports, of course, Pride Month, and will put rainbow crosswalks across the city and flags all over the city," Ikhuiwu said."His email is very deceptive and does not show inclusivity, which they preach, right? So this is just one of the stuff we're fighting against, to say that the Church here needs to wake up," Ikhuiwu said.McMeekin added, "Also, for the record, Councillor Pauls motion does not call for naming the month of December Christian Heritage Minth [sic]."In fact, Pauls' motion reads, "THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the City of Hamilton supports local Christian faith groups, families and individuals as they celebrate Christian Heritage Month."The Western Standard asked McMeekin to clarify his comments. "Endorsing a Christian Heritage Month and celebrating your desire to affirm [the] same are two very different things," McMeekin replied by email.Ikhuiwu received 1867 votes in his mayoral bid, a number that matches the year of Canada’s Confederation. He finds significance in the Canadian motto of Psalm 72:8: “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.”“Canada was founded in Christian principles and values. And of course, Canada is the only country in the world that has its name, the Dominion of Canada... found out of Scripture. So it is important that Canadians understand that beautiful, glorious Christian heritage,” Ikhuiwu said.Ikhuiwu says the acknowledgement serves multiple good purposes and hopes "far-left" councillors won't prevent it.“This movement not only honors the Christian community, but also enhances our unity through shared values of love, compassion and service to others,” he said.
