Identifying the Most Persecuted, Victimized Group in Canada

"For many Canadians, the degree of hate expression online is so pervasive that it becomes somewhat banal to Canadians."

"Hence, some 60 percent of Canadians ignore the expression of hate when they see it online."

Report on recent Leger survey

 

"The survey confirms a continued increase in the extent to which Canadians see Jews as the most likely target of hate."

"Students are by far the least likely to share this observation as relatively few see Jews as the main victims of hate."

"The result of doing this [becoming accustomed to and ignoring the proliferation of hate messages] is to heighten desensitization to online hate and risks a normalization of hate expression." 

"It's a serious issue that needs considerably greater attention from policymakers and civil society."

"All groups that are the target of hate online risk being victims of growing societal inaction."

Jack Jedwab, chief executive, Association for Canadian Studies 

Signs were burned outside Temple Sinai, a Jewish school and place of worship, in Toronto on July 31. It's one of a number of apparent acts of antisemitism in Canada that have left Jewish communities uneasy and raised fears about their safety. (Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center/X)

 

The most recent survey on online hate expression concludes that a plurality of Canadians believe the Canadian Jewish community has become the greatest target of hate crimes in Canada, in comparison to other groups susceptible to expressions of racial prejudice. A recent survey conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies found 23 percent of respondents identified the most victimized group in the country to be the Jewish-Canadian population. Ten percent selected Muslims for that distinction.

A smaller segment of respondents chose the LGBTQ community, Black people, Indian people/East Indians, giving each of those groups four percent while Indigenous people, immigrants and minorities were chosen by three percent. A mere 4.9 percent among students felt that Jews were the most targeted group, while among them 8.6 percent selected Muslims for that distinction. Among students, 70 percent responded they didn't know which group attracted the most racist comments.

Statistics Canada released their own report of hate crimes, noting incidents increased from 3,612 incidents in 2022 to 4,777 in 2023, with the number more than doubling since 2019, with Jewish people most often the target. In Toronto alone police note a 69 percent increase in hate crimes against Jewish Canadians since January of 2024.

"Police officials across Canada are reporting a rise in hate crimes in 2024. Name the group that  you think is the one that has been most targeted", the Leger poll conducted on behalf of the Association for Canadian Studies asked respondents. Differences were seen among the various provinces, with 26 percent in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan ranking the Jewish community the leading recipient of intolerance in 2024. 18 percent of residents in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec felt the Jewish community was the leading target of hate.

23 percent in British Columbia chose Jews as the most targeted, while 22 percent in Alberta thought so. Those identifying as being on the left supported the statement at 13 percent, the only group to express the opinion that Muslims were the most targeted group, at 17.1 percent. Respondents who identified themselves as knowledgeable about the Israel-Hamas conflict were most likely to view the Jewish community as the most vulnerable minority. 

Canadians were found to be less concerned about racist sentiments they see commonly on line with the rise in hate rimes that ballooned since the October 7 attacks in southern Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups led to a torrent of rhetoric of intolerance. Expressions that have become so ubiquitous that Canadians have been left desensitized to their presence, preferring to simply ignore them.

Police investigators examine the exterior of a synagogue in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., where an incendiary device was ignited in November. (Francois Joly/Radio-Canada)