Canadian Senator Leo Housakos says antisemitism in Canada has reached “a level … which is unacceptable,” urging immediate government action.
In an online video statement, Housakos said the rise in incidents is “driving Canadians out of the country in terms of capital, human resources, people that have been here for generations” and called for a “whole of government approach” with coordinated benchmarks involving Public Safety, Justice and the RCMP.
In 2024, the Toronto Police Services reported that 40 per cent of all hate crimes in the city targeted the Jewish community, and 81 per cent of religion-motivated hate crimes there were antisemitic.
Statistics Canada figures show police-reported hate crimes in Canada rose 32 per cent in 2023 to 4,777 incidents, the third sharp increase in four years. Within that total, hate crimes targeting Jewish Canadians increased 71 per cent, with 900 incidents reported, despite Jewish people making up less than one per cent of the population.
“Although Canada remains one of the best countries in the world in which to be Jewish, or any other minority for that matter, these numbers are troubling and should concern all Canadians of good will,” said The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) in response to police-reported hate crimes data.
Jewish Canadians accounted for about 70 per cent of all religion-motivated hate crimes in 2023 and nearly 19 per cent of all hate crimes nationally.
Housakos said actions in “front of synagogues and in front of community organizations … has to stop, and it has to stop now.”