[1] The organization was established in 2000 to focus on combatting Islamophobia, hate and racism through legal action, public advocacy, education, and media representation.
[14] NCCM engages in lobbying all levels of government to strengthen or enact laws and policies that address Islamophobia in all its forms.
[18][19][20][21] NCCM has been active on several public policy files including systemic Islamophobia in national security agencies,[22] the CRA,[23][24] policing,[25] and education.
[39][40][41][42][43] NCCM was formerly known as the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) prior to 2013 and was independent of the U.S. organization of a similar name, CAIR.
[44] In 2014, the NCCM sued former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his spokesman Jason MacDonald for defamation[45] for alleging that the organization had connections with a terrorist organization because of similar accusations directed at CAIR; however, these accusations were settled in court when Harper's spokesperson admitted that his statements regarding NCCM were wrong.