Record antisemitic incidents in Canada fuel criticism of Carney government response

The Canadian government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing renewed criticism that it is not doing enough to curb antisemitism as a new report shows record numbers of hate crimes against the nation's Jewish population. 

On Monday, human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights released a report showing that 6,800 antisemitic incidents took place in the country in 2025, representing a 9.4% increase over 2024. On average, this represented 18.6 incidents a day, and was the "highest volume" the group has recorded since it began tracking incidents.

Just last week, Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights released a report on the rise of antisemitism in Canada following the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. The committee issued 22 recommendations for the Canadian government to address the tide of anti-Jewish hate.

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The recommendations span the gamut of expanding research into hate crime data, improving security funding, addressing the display of hate symbols, expanding social media and digital literacy, and increasing educational resources for professionals teachers and students.

In one recommendation, the report addressed the prime minister directly, asking that he reinstate the position of a Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism. Carney eliminated this position in February along with the combating Islamophobia position, integrating them into a different office. His office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about whether he intends to follow the recommendation.

While some welcomed the report, several Jewish Canadians expressed concern whether it accurately identified drivers of antisemitism.

The report does not mention Islamic extremism, and only occasionally mentions anti-Zionist fervor, often describing it using the words of other institutions and respondents.

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"It is deeply troubling and bewildering that the Senate report doesn’t even reference religious radicalism as a problem," Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, host of The Jewish World podcast, told Fox News Digital.

"The reluctance to identify the radicals is itself evidence of ignorance and bias," he said. "By their silence, politicians are implying that they think the broad Muslim community is supportive of the radicals and therefore fear alienating that community by denouncing the radicals. Truth be told, it is often that moderate Muslims are the first who suffer at the hands of radical elements."

Poupko added that it "is notoriously difficult to quantify with any degree of certainty what percentage of Canadian Muslims support the radicals," but said "it is certainly far from a majority."

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The Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council raised concerns of its own about the Senate’s recommendations. Though it "reaffirm[ed] that combating antisemitism is essential to protecting all communities in Canada," the group stated on X that "certain recommendations… raise serious concerns about potential impacts on Charter-protected freedoms, including protest and expression" and suggested "efforts to address hate" should "not inadvertently limit civil rights, restrict lawful advocacy or disproportionately marginalize communities."

Aviva Klompas, CEO and co-founder of Boundless Israel, told Fox News Digital that she applauds the report’s recommendations of "creating safety zones around religious institutions and community spaces, strengthening hate crime enforcement and education," but does not "think it fully accounts for the multiple dimensions driving this immediate surge, including Islamic extremism and the ways anti-Zionism is used as a cover to target Jews."

There are concerns about whether the Senate’s recommendations are sufficient to address the current climate of anti-Jewish hate. Poupko said, "Antisemitism is too generic a term to describe what is now the problem," adding that the "‘old’ solutions, like education, police training and Holocaust awareness are clearly insufficient to meet the challenge."

Klompas says she "appreciate[s] that a plan is being put into place" but is concerned "that it doesn’t meet the urgency of the moment. Jewish schools have been shot at, synagogues repeatedly targeted and Jewish-owned businesses vandalized."

She questioned whether anyone would "gamble on a new task force or education training programs to keep your family and friends safe at a moment when they are actively under attack?"

Ian McLeod, senior media relations advisor at the Canadian Department of Justice, told Fox News Digital, "The Government of Canada is taking concrete action to counter hate in all its forms, including antisemitism, and reinforce that our society will not tolerate anyone being made to feel afraid because of who they are, how they worship or where they gather." The spokesperson noted that many of the Senate’s recommendations "reflect these actions."

Among the initiatives McLeod said were already underway is Canada’s Action Plan on Combating Hate (CAPCH), launched in September 2024, "which brings new and existing initiatives together to foster greater coordination and collaboration among federal organizations to prevent and address hate."  

During the same year, McLeod said the Canadian government "announced over $273 million to support community safety, improve responses to hate crimes, help victims, and counter radicalization."