StatsCan reports hate crimes up sharply in 2023 against Jews

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Police services in Canada recorded a steep rise in hate crimes in 2023, with a significant amount targeting Jews, Statistics Canada reports.

There were 4,777 incidents reported, up 32 per cent from 3,612 incidents in 2022. It was the third steep increase in four years.

Hate crimes targeting someone based on religion led the way with 1,284 incidents, 516 more than in 2022. The majority of hate crimes targeting a religion reported by police in 2023 were directed at the Jewish (70 per cent) and Muslim (16 per cent) populations, says StatsCan.

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There were 306 incidents directed at Jews in 2019, increasing annually to 900 in 2023. The statistics for hate crimes against Muslims jumped has fluctuated over the same period, increasing to 211 in 2023.

The significant increase in which Jews in Canada were the victim of hate crimes runs contrary to the fact that they represent “just one percent of the Canadian population,” points out the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Toronto.

A Toronto Police Service report on hate crimes in Toronto for 2023 reflects these trends.

“Anti-Jewish (36 per cent), anti-2SLGBTQI+ (18 per cent), anti-Black (13 per cent), and anti-Muslim (7 per cent) criminal occurrences were the highest reported, states the TPS report. “The three most frequently reported criminal offences motivated by hate in 2023 were mischief to property, assault, and uttering threats.”

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The Jewish community was the most frequently targeted group for mischief to property occurrences, says the TPS.

Some Canadian police services, including those in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver have suggested that ongoing conflict in the Middle East may have impacted hate crimes motivated by religion in 2023, according to the StatsCan report.

This is particularly true of the hate crimes “targeting the Jewish and Muslim populations. Similar trends were also reported in other countries, including, for example, by the Department of Justice in the United States and the Home Office in the United Kingdom.”

Jews have been consistently the most targeted religious community in the U.S., according to the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, with anti-Semitic incidents being reported at record levels.

Most of the violations typically associated with hate crimes in Canada increased in 2023 when compared to the previous year, including public incitement of hatred (up 65 per cent to 150 incidents), uttering threats (up 53 per cent to 684 incidents), general mischief (up 34 per cent to 1,826 incidents) and assaults (up 20 per cent to 939 incidents).

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As seen in previous years, general mischief and mischief relating to property used by an identifiable group accounted for the largest proportion (43 per cent) of hate crime violations in 2023. Overall, 55 per cent of police-reported hate crimes were non-violent violations.

Among the provinces in 2023, the highest police-reported hate crime rate was recorded in Nova Scotia (18.2 incidents per 100,000 population), says StatsCan, attributing this in part to the establishment of a dedicated hate crimes unit in Halifax.

The next highest rates were recorded in Ontario (15.6 incidents per 100,000), British Columbia (12.1 incidents per 100,000) and Prince Edward Island (12.1 incidents per 100,000). The lowest rate was recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador (3.3 incidents per 100,000).

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