THE Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said on Monday that Statistics Canada’s 2018 police-reported hate crime data showing an overall decline in incidents reveals disturbing trends.
Hate crimes targeting Jewish Canadians remained relatively stable after a spike in 2017 – dropping by 4% in 2018. Hate crimes against other communities saw declines of 50% in incidents targeting Muslim Canadians, 12% in incidents targeting Black Canadians, and 15% targeting Canadians on the basis of sexual orientation.
The Jewish community remains the most frequently targeted group when it comes to hate crime, with an incident taking place roughly every 24 hours in Canada.
Regional data reveals the growth of hate crimes in key cities over the past five years, including substantial increases in Vancouver and Montreal. Among Canada’s three largest cities, Vancouver now has the highest rate of hate crimes – moving from third place in a single year to surpass Montreal and Toronto.
Shimon Koffler Fogel, President and CEO of CIJA, said: “We are encouraged to see an overall decline in hate crimes, though a single such incident against any community is one too many. It is deeply concerning that, despite a decline in hate crime generally, incidents targeting Jews remained relatively stable after a sharp spike in 2017. While most Canadians reject antisemitism, this data confirms the persistence of Jew hatred – which is seeing an alarming global rise.
“The growth of hate crimes in major cities is especially worrisome, including in diverse cities like Montreal and Vancouver. Given that Vancouver now has the highest rate of hate crimes among Canada’s three largest cities, Vancouver City Council is right to support a motion this week to tackle antisemitism using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition.
“Countering antisemitism is a vital part of anti-racism efforts. We urge Vancouver city councillors to support this motion as the first step in a comprehensive approach to combating other forms of hate.”
Statistics Canada’s 2018 police-reported hate crime data
