Canadians believe Israelis face more prejudice than Palestinians due to war on Iran: poll
A majority of Canadians believe Israelis are more likely to face prejudice as a result of the Iran war, according to a new survey.
The survey is looking at “the impact of the War with Iran on Canadians’ views about groups that might associated with it — in the context of the wider middle east conflict,” says Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies, which commissioned the survey from Leger on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which will be marked on Saturday.
Last month, Israel and the United States launched an assault on Iran, which is a sponsor of multiple anti-Israel terror groups including Hamas and Hezbollah.
The belief across Canada that Israelis will face more prejudice came out at 63 per cent. That’s more than Palestinians at 59 per cent and Iranians at 58 per cent. This intensifies when viewed through the lens of Canadians 65 and older. They are most likely to think Israelis will face prejudice (77 per cent) over Palestinians (68 per cent) or Iranians (66 per cent).
This differs from younger Canadians, ages 25-33, which are least likely to believe prejudice is being faced by Israelis (48 per cent), Palestinians (51 per cent) and Iranians (48 per cent).
“To some extent,” says Jedwab, “I think older Canadians are following the issues more closely, and are therefore more likely to react to (the war’s) varying effects domestically.”
Quebeckers are most likely to believe Israelis face prejudice: 67 per cent. That compares, for example, with 64 per cent in Atlantic Canada and 63 per cent in B.C. and Ontario. Regarding this polling point, Jedwab observes: “I think they see the greater effects in Quebec of the interreligious conflicts arising from the War and thus seeing higher overall rates of victims across the spectrum.”
People born in Canada are more likely to believe prejudice will be faced by all three groups in varying degrees: Israelis, 66 per cent; Palestinians, 62 per cent; Iranians, 61 per cent. For people born outside Canada, the numbers are respectively: 51, 50 and 46 per cent.
The level of a survey respondent’s education did not have an impact on their beliefs. For example, with regard to Israelis, 62 per cent of university-educated respondents believed they would face prejudice. For college graduates, that number was 65 per cent, and for high school grads, 62 per cent. Jedwab says education level usually makes a difference in the surveys the ACS commissions, but “in this case, it doesn’t.”
Jedwab notes that among respondents who think that Palestinians are “very likely” to be the object of hate and prejudice, some 84 per cent believe Israelis are also likely to the be the object of hate and prejudice (68 per cent very likely and 16 per cent somewhat likely).
Finally, he adds, a deeper analysis of the survey shows that Canadians expressing greater sympathy for the Iranian regime are much less likely to see Israelis in Canada as victims of hate and prejudice. “Among those who want Canada to politically support the United States and its allies in the war with Iran, some 73% believe that Israelis are the victims of hate and prejudice, compared with 50% among the minority that want Canada to support the Iranian regime.”
These findings are based on surveys conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies between March 6 and 8, 2026 with 1579 Canadians. While no margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample of 1579 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.52%, 19 times out of 20.
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