National

FSWC COMMISSIONED STUDY ON HOLOCAUST & ANTISEMITISM

In a random survey of 1,000 Canadians commissioned by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and conducted by Nanos Research in August 2018, nearly eight in ten Canadians (78%) believe that we need to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive.  

On average, the survey found what has long been suspected by FSWC – that approximately 15% (5 million) Canadians express views that could be construed as antisemitic. The survey found that even though the Jewish community of Canada makes up less than 1% of the population, around 13% to 18% of Canadians believe Jewish people in Canada have "too much influence" in various areas such as the business world, the Canadian government and the global media.   

Quebec displayed the highest percentage of intolerance on average (ranging from 19-27% who said “too much influence” across the various areas) followed by Ontario and British Columbia, while Atlantic Canada generally displayed the least antisemitism (8.6-12% across the various areas) on average. Men surveyed appeared more likely to have antisemitic tendencies than women (17.5% vs. 9% using the lowest figures for each group across the various areas).

CLICK HERE to read the full report.

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NATIONAL POLICE REPORTING

On November 28 2017, Statistics Canada released its Police-reported hate crime, 2016 report. Some highlights from the report are as follows:

• Police reported 1,409 hate crimes in Canada in 2016, 47 more than in 2015. This represented less than 0.1% of the 1,895,546 crimes (excluding traffic violations) that were reported by police services. The 3% increase in hate crimes was a result of more incidents targeting South Asians and Arabs or West Asians, the Jewish population, and people based on their sexual orientation. In contrast, hate crimes against Muslims and Catholics declined in 2016.
• Based on data from police services that provided detailed information on hate crimes for both 2015 and 2016, an increased violence was observed in hate crimes. For example, violent hate-motivated crimes (for example, assault, threats, criminal harassment and other violent offences) rose from 487 in 2015 to 563 in 2016, up 16%. In 2016, 43% of hate crimes were violent, compared with 38% in 2015.
• 48% (666 incidents) of all police-reported hate crimes were motivated by race or ethnicity, 25 more than the previous year.
• 33% (460 incidents) of all police-reported hate crimes were motivated by religion, 9 fewer than the previous year.
• 13% (176 incidents) of all police-reported hate crimes were motivated by sexual orientation, 35 more than the previous year.
• Of the 460 hate crimes targeting religion, 221 incidents targeted the Jewish population accounting for 48% of hate crimes motivated by religion, and comprising 16% of all hate motivated crimes in 2016, making the Jewish population once again the most targeted group for hate crimes overall, followed by the Black (214) and Muslim (139) populations.
• From 2015 to 2016, the number of hate crimes against the Jewish population grew from 178 to 221 incidents. Increases were seen in Ontario (+31), Quebec (+11) and Manitoba (+7).

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In the summer of 2018, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies reached out to police services across Canada, asking them for their most current hate crime statistics. Results are listed below.

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Barrie Police Service:

Number of hate crimes reported: 18
Type of hate crime(s):

• 10 Antisemitic
• 3 Sexual orientation
• 5 Racist

Expression of hate crime(s):

• 11 Mischief
• 1 Trouble with youth
• 1 Harassment
• 3 Assault
• 2 Police information

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LaSalle Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 4
Type of hate crime(s):

• 3 Racist
• 1 Suspicious circumstances

Expression of hate crime(s):

• 2 Slurs and threats
• 1 Assault
• 1 Trespass

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Kawartha Lakes Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 1
Type of hate crime(s): 

• Sexual Orientation

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Montreal Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 250 
Type of hate crime(s):

• 116 Religion
• 76 Ethnicity
• 27 Sexual orientation
• 3 Sexual in nature
• 3 Language
• 23 Other circumstances such as political opinions
• 3 Unknown

The religions most targeted were Muslim (59) and Jewish (43).

Number of hate incidents (non-criminal acts) reported: 173

• 108 Religion
• 52 Ethnicity
• 3 Sexual in nature
• 3 Sexual orientation
• 1 Age
• 4 Others
• 2 Unknown

The religions most targeted were Muslim (80) and Jewish (21).

As of end of July 2018, 144 hate crimes and 64 hate incidents have been reported so far.

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Niagara Regional Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 24
Type of hate crime(s): 

• 7 Antisemitic

Expression of hate crime(s):

• 18 Graffiti

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 Saskatoon Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 4
Type of hate crime(s): 

• 1 Antisemitic
• 3 Racist

Expression of hate crime(s):

• 1 Assault
• 1 Uttering threats
• 1 Harassment
• 1 Mischief

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York Regional Police

Number of hate crimes reported: 86
Type of hate crime(s): 

• 54 Race/ethnicity
• 67 Religion
• 15 Sexual orientation
• 1 Gender

Hate crimes dramatically increased in York Region by almost 60%, going from 86 incidents in 2016 to 137 incidents in 2017.

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Toronto Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 186
Type of hate crime(s):

• 53 Jewish
• 33 Black
• 33 Muslim
• 27 Multi-Bias
• 22 LGBTQ
• 5 White
• 4 Pakistani
• 4 Chinese
• 3 Brown Skinned
• 1 Somali
• 1 Canadian

Expression of hate crime(s):

• 31 Assault
• 7 Criminal harassment
• 2 Public incitement of hatred
• 120 Mischief
• 21 Utter threats
• 2 Weapons dangerous
• 3 Wilful promotion of hatred

There was a 28% increase in hate crimes, going from 145 occurences in 2016 to 186 in 2017.

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Hamilton Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 136
Type of hate crime(s):

• 67 Racial bias
• 41 Religion
• 27 Sexual orientation

The most targeted group was the Black community, followed by the LGBTQ, Jewish and Muslim communities.

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Ontario Provincial Police

Number of hate crimes reported: 29
Type of hate crime(s):

• 4 Black (2 Assault, 2 Mischief)
• 5 Jewish (Mischief)
• 7 Christian (Mischief)
• 1 German (Mischief)
• 1 Indigenous (Mischief)
• 5 LGBTQ (Mischief)
• 2 Muslim (Threats)
• 1 White (Threat)
• 3 Unspecified (1 Assault, 1 Mischief, 1 Threat)

Expression of hate crime(s):

• 5 Mischief to religious property
• 20 Hate bias crime (i.e., graffiti, vandalism in which no suspect was identified)
• 3 Hate propaganda crime
• 1 Suspected by officer

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Waterloo Regional Police Service

Number of hate crimes reported: 53
Type of hate crime(s):

• 15 Antisemitic

Location of hate crime(s):

• 14 Schools
• 6 Religious institutions
• 6 Businesses
• 27 Public spaces

Number of hate crimes expected to go up in 2018 as more people begin to report hate crimes.