Jesse Kline: Carney admits antisemitism ‘crisis,’ but won’t do much about it

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at Holy Blossom Temple synagogue in Toronto on Monday June 1, 2026. Ernest Doroszuk/Postmedia

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TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney is good at saying all the right things, as he did during a speech on combating antisemitism at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple on Monday afternoon. But talk is cheap. In terms of actual policy prescriptions, Carney might as well have held up a white flag and admitted he has no idea what to do.

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In a prerecorded message preceding Carney’s address, the synagogue’s chief rabbi, Yael Splansky, called on Canada to “make good on its promise of peace, order and good government,” noting that, “When hate is tolerated, it grows … when laws are not enforced, permission is granted and lawlessness escalates.

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“And when Canadian elected leaders publicly condemn Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, Jewish-Canadians pay the price.” That was clearly aimed at Carney, who has been more critical of Israel than any prime minister in the last 20 years — which is saying a lot considering who his predecessor was.

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Yet given Carney’s track record on Israel, it showed fortitude for him to stand next to an Israeli flag and forcefully condemn the sharp rise in antisemitism that this country has witnessed over the past three years. He admitted that Canada’s “civic compact is failing Jewish-Canadians,” and that the government has “a special responsibility to ensure that no culture, faith, race, gender or identity is threatened or suppressed.”

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He acknowledged that Canada’s very “nature is being tested, as one of our communities is being particularly and brutally targeted,” noting that, “Antisemites in Canada have fired bullets at Jewish schools. They have thrown firebombs at synagogues and attacked community centres. They have targeted Jewish-owned businesses. Harassed Jewish patients at hospitals. Drove Jewish students from the common spaces on our university campuses. And desecrated our Holocaust memorials.”

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The prime minister told a story about attending the opening of a Jewish centre at the University of Ottawa, saying that the “otherwise joyous event occurred under heavy police presence and was interrupted by angry shouts of some passers-by.”

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That heavy police presence could also be seen surrounding Holy Blossom Temple on Monday, with an army of police officers setting up camp in the parking lot and blocking traffic on the surrounding streets during rush hour. Likely the only reason the event wasn’t marred by the same antisemites Carney spoke of was because the Prime Minister’s Office kept the location a closely guarded secret.

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Sitting in the 170-year-old synagogue waiting for Carney to take the stage, one of my colleagues asked if I had any idea what the announcement would be. I mentioned the possibility that Carney might not announce anything at all.

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Surely the prime minister wouldn’t gather a large crowd — including members of Parliament, chiefs of police, community leaders and media — and not say anything worthwhile, I was told.

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But I argued that if Carney merely tries to sell the audience on the measures his government has already taken and announces the creation of a royal commission or something of the sort, it will show that the Liberals are intent on making it look like they’re doing something, while failing to do what’s necessary to deal with an intractable problem like the world’s oldest hatred.