Antisemitism, anti-Indigenous racism most concerning: poll

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One-quarter of Canadians believe that anti-Indigenous racism and antisemitism are very serious problems in Canada, according to a new national poll.

The poll, which was conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, was released just weeks after Statistics Canada hate-crime data revealed that antisemitism accounted for about 70 per cent of religiously motivated hate crimes in 2023, despite Jewish people accounting for only about two per cent of the nation’s population. Anti-Indigenous sentiment was present in about three per cent of race-based hate crimes, while Indigenous people account for about five per cent of Canada’s population.

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“Our perception of prejudice is very much affected by the domestic fallout of global conflicts,” said Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, in an email. “But the effect varies according to where you live as we can see in some parts of the country and there is a gap between the perceptions about which groups are the object of prejudice.”

There are significant regional variations regarding what Canadians perceive as real problems in Canada. For example, 57 per cent of Quebecers said anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a problem in Canada, while just 46 per cent of Albertans agreed.

On antisemitism, specifically, 65 per cent of British Columbians said it’s a problem, followed by 63 per cent of Ontarians and 61 per cent of Atlantic Canadians. Fifty-nine per cent of Quebecers said antisemitism is a problem and 60 per cent of those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan agreed. Albertans, at 50 per cent, are least likely to believe antisemitism is a problem in Canada.

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The polling asked Canadians to what extent they felt specific forms of prejudice were a significant problem in Canada. Twenty-five per cent said they felt antisemitism was a very serious problem, though a total of 61 per cent felt that it was a problem — either very or somewhat. Thirty per cent of Canadians felt it is not a problem in Canada.

Those over the age of 55 were most likely to see antisemitism as a very serious problem in Canada, with 31 per cent holding that view, compared to 23 per cent of those between the ages of 18 and 34 and 20 per cent of those between 35 and 54.

Sixty per cent felt that Islamophobia is a serious or somewhat serious problem in Canada, while 31 per cent felt that it was not a problem. Anti-Muslim sentiment is present in about 16 per cent of the religiously motivated hate crimes reported to police in 2023.

Fifty-six per cent of Canadians said anti-Black prejudice is a problem in Canada, while 36 per cent said it is not a problem. Hate crimes directed against Black Canadians make up about 37 per cent of all racially based hate crimes, according to Statistics Canada.

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Sixty-three per cent of Canadians said anti-Indigenous racism is a problem in Canada, while 29 per cent said it’s not a problem. That issue, Jedwab said, is primarily domestic, compared to several other forms of perceived prejudice.

“These other issues seem to be very much driven, at least at this particular juncture, by these global conflicts,” Jedwab said in an interview.

Fifty-five per cent said prejudice against LGBTQ Canadians is a problem, and 36 per cent said it is not.

The polling also looked at attitudes towards antisemitism in Canada’s big cities. In Toronto, which has the highest concentration of Jewish people in Canada, 29 per cent of those polled said antisemitism was a very serious problem, as did 30 per cent of those in Ottawa and 25 per cent of those in Montreal. In Vancouver, just 17 per cent said antisemitism was a very serious problem, with 33 per cent instead saying anti-Indigenous bigotry is a very serious problem. Montrealers, at 26 per cent, were also more likely to identify anti-Indigenous sentiment as a very serious issue than they were to say antisemitism is a very serious problem.

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In some Canadian cities, antisemitism is “more in your face,” said Jedwab.

“The fact that it’s in your face to this extent is modifying people’s perceptions about the extent of the problem.”

In fact, rural Canadians are the least likely to identify prejudice of any sort as a very serious problem. For example, 28 per cent of those polled who live in urban areas said antisemitism is a serious problem; 25 per cent of suburban residents said the same. Just 18 per cent of those in rural Canada agreed. Those numbers hold similarly for other forms of prejudice. Less than 17 per cent of rural Canadians said Islamophobia is a very serious problem; 15 per cent said racism against Black people is a very serious problem; 22 per cent said prejudice against Indigenous people is a problem; and 19 per cent said prejudice against LGBTQ Canadians is a problem.

British Columbians, at 52 per cent, are least likely to see Islamophobia or anti-Muslim prejudice as a problem, followed by Albertans, at 58 per cent, Quebecers at 59 per cent and those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 60 per cent. Ontarians (64 per cent) and Atlantic Canadians (62 per cent) are most likely to say Islamophobia is a problem in Canada.

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Broadly speaking, Canadians are of the view that hate is on the rise in Canada. Polling from May 2024 found that 74 per cent of Canadians thought hate was increasing, compared to 66 per cent just three months earlier. Seventy-four per cent of Canadians also said they’ve seen expressions of hate online, compared to 58 per cent a few months before.

“We need to look at this holistically. We need to look at prejudice and racism in its entirety, and look at its effect on our society, as opposed to addressing it one crisis at a time, moving from crisis to crisis,” said Jedwab.

The poll surveyed 1,784 Canadians between July 12 and 15. While a margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey for comparison purposes, a probability sample would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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