A young woman running for city council in Etobicoke says she’s received overwhelming support after her campaign posters were vandalized with discriminatory messages.

Munira Abukar, 22, is currently a candidate in Ward 2.

She took to her Twitter account Saturday after her aunt found some of her signs at Martingrove and Dixon roads had been scribbled over with xenophobic messages, one of them telling her to “go home.”

“This is just a disgusting example of anti democratic and ignorance (sic). Upset by this, however still putting up more signs in #ward2 #TOpoli,” Abukar tweeted along with photos of the defaced signs.

As an observant Muslim woman, Abukar wears a headscarf. The daughter of Somali immigrants, she was born in Etobicoke and says she doesn’t consider anyplace else home.

A flood of support followed her posting Saturday, with hundreds of people tweeting messages of support.

“Stay strong. There is no place for racism in this city,” mayoral candidate Olivia Chow tweeted.

“Some people are disgusting. Stay strong, love>hate,” Twitter user Darkeaux wrote to Abukar.

Speaking with CP24 Sunday, Abukar said she’s encouraged by all the support.

“We didn’t give the hate any chance for it to breathe,” she said. “It’s ill education. I’m not mad at who did, I’m thinking of how we could educate them.”

She added that the incident for her highlights the need to have a conversation about what it means to live in a diverse city.

“For us it’s been a positive campaign,” Abukar said. “You’re always going to come across people who don’t like that you’re diverse and different.”

She said she plans to file a complaint with police about the incident.

Abukar is running in a crowded field of candidates that includes Mayor Rob Ford, who is trying to reclaim his old council seat after dropping out of the mayoral race following a cancer diagnosis. His brother, mayoral candidate Doug Ford., currently represents the area.

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