‘I’m voting for the first time after fleeing a dictatorship’

Ahmad Al Masri and his wife Ghayda grew up under the shadow of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in Syria, where democracy and freedom of speech were only dreams.

Now in their 40s and newly Canadian citizens, they are about to vote for the very first time in Canada’s general election. It is more than a ballot for them – it is a powerful moment of freedom they never thought they would have.