Canada Faces ‘National Crisis’ Of Antisemitism, Jewish Group Warns (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

OTTAWA (Worthy News) – An influential Jewish organization has warned that Canada is facing a “national crisis of antisemitism,” with some 6,800 anti-Jewish hate incidents reported nationwide.

B’nai Brith Canada said in its Audit of Antisemitic Incidents for 2025 that last year recorded the highest number of antisemitic acts since the annual audit began in 1982.

“Our review of the past year’s antisemitic incidents must be understood as a wake-up call,” said Simon Wolle, the group’s Chief Executive Officer.

“Hate and extremism are a threat to Canadian democracy and civil society, not only to the Jewish community,” Wolle stressed in remarks obtained by Worthy News.

When compared to previous years, the 2025 figures appear especially significant. The total number of incidents “increased 9.4 percent from 2024 to 2025, and 145.6 percent from 2022” before the Hamas October 7 attacks against Israel, the report said.

RISING NUMBERS ACROSS REGIONS

Several regions, including Ontario, the Prairies, Atlantic Canada, and British Columbia, recorded “significant increases” in documented incidents, while Quebec and Alberta saw declines, according to investigators.

Most incidents occurred online, reinforcing a trend seen in recent years, the audit found.

The surge in hate during 2025 was only partly linked to the war in the Middle East, said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy and lead author of the audit.

He said antisemitism has become “so widespread” that the armed conflict cannot be considered the primary driver. “Conspiracies about Jews and Jewish influence in Canada are no longer something we only see on the radical fringes,” he said.

“In recent years, and especially during 2025, it has become clear that antisemitism is increasingly normalized throughout Canadian society.”

EXTREMISM AND ONLINE HATE SURGE

Robertson added that many self-described “anti-Zionists” are using “classic tropes” historically employed to dehumanize Jewish people, including narratives rooted in The Holocaust—also known as the Shoah in Hebrew.

The report also pointed to a steady rise in right-wing, neo-Nazi, and accelerationist incidents across Canada.

Holocaust denial has spread widely on social media, including through the use of artificial intelligence to create false or misleading depictions of historical events, investigators said.

Authorities and advocacy groups cited numerous incidents during 2025, including demonstrations featuring antisemitic rhetoric, vandalism targeting Jewish political candidates, and attacks on synagogues and community centers.

In one widely condemned case, Canada’s National Holocaust Memorial in Ottawa was defaced in June in what critics described as an example of “Holocaust inversion,” while other cases involved assaults on visibly Jewish individuals and exclusion of Jewish groups from public events.

There were also security concerns, with officials saying suspects inspired by Islamic State—also known as IS or Daesh—had sought to carry out an attack in Canada.

CALL FOR GOVERNMENT ACTION

Wolle emphasized that while the audit aims to document the spread of antisemitism, responsibility for addressing the issue lies with authorities at all levels.

“Canada has vast tools at its disposal to address this crisis of antisemitism,” he said.

“Our findings support the need for a whole-of-government approach to combating hate, antisemitism, and extremism in Canadian society,” Wolle added.

Canada is home to roughly 400,000 Jewish residents by religion, or about 540,000 people including those of partial Jewish ancestry or cultural identification, making it one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, researchers say.

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