Canadian annual audit of antisemitism sees highest number of incidents since 1982

Richard Robertson, Director of Research and Advocacy, B’nai Brith Canada, holds up the annual audit book during a press conference sharing an update on Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in Canada for 2025 at the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Postmedia

Article content

The latest annual audit of antisemitic incidents in Canada shows an increase of almost 10 per cent since last year, driven by a spike in online harassments even as incidents of violence and harassment fell slightly.

Article content

B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights released its annual audit on Monday, documenting 6,800 incidents of antisemitism across the country, equivalent to an average of 18.6 incidents per day. This is the highest volume recorded since the audit began in 1982.

Article content

Article content

The increase has been even more dramatic when compared to 2022, prior to the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel. While antisemitic incidents rose by 9.3 per cent in Canada last year, they were up 145.6 per cent between 2022 and 2025.

Article content

Article content

Article content

The report said the increase this year could be linked in part to the war on Iran, but also noted that antisemitism has become so widespread that the conflict cannot be considered its primary source.

Article content

Article content

“Antisemitic conspiracy theories were disseminated with such frequency in 2025 that it is easier to summarize the totality of the accusations made against Jewish Canadians by simply stating that they were made the scapegoats for all the world’s problems,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy, at a press conference in Ottawa at which the report was released.

Article content

He added: “Antisemitism has become so ubiquitous in our society that the word Jew is now commonly used as a slur to disparage and malign non-Jews. In contemporary Canada, Jewishness itself has become derogatory.”

Article content

Ontario, the Prairies, Atlantic Canada and British Colombia experienced significant increases in the number of documented incidents in 2025, while in Quebec and Alberta, the total number declined.

Article content

The report also noted that most incidents (92 per cent) occurred online, part of a continuing trend. In the previous two years, about 85 per cent of incidents were online, while from 2019 to 2022 it was closer to 74 per cent.

Article content

Article content

Robertson said governmental response was important, regardless of the origins of the incidents.

Article content

Article content

“We need to protect Canadians from the dangers that are rapidly increasing and emerging from digital spaces,” he said. “Whether they are being fuelled by foreign-based entities or by foreign corporations, that shouldn’t matter. Canada must regulate its online realm and must protect Canadians from the dangers presently existing within it.’

Article content

In addition to calling for a federal Royal Commission on antisemitism, the report listed recommendations for each level of government.

Article content

At the federal level, it said the government needs to establish a national antisemitism emergency task force, treat violent antisemitic attacks as domestic terrorism, and deploy additional national security resources to protect Jewish institutions.

Article content

For the provinces and territories, it recommended funding immediate security protection for Jewish institutions and establishing a special prosecution unit for hate crimes. And at the municipal level, it called for a ban on events that incite hate and intimidation, zero tolerance for intimidation in public spaces, and the prioritization of protection for Jewish neighbourhoods and institutions.