John Ivison: On the eve of pro-Hamas vigils, universities finally seem ready to tackle campus antisemitism

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But the Benotto review concluded that the deteriorating campus climate was the result of the absence of decisive action by the university.

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It found 84 per cent of the 900 Jewish students interviewed said antisemitism on campus is a serious problem; 95.7 per cent said they had experienced or witnessed it; 70 per cent said their university does not take antisemitism seriously; and 68 per cent said their campus is not a safe or inclusive place.

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Martha Piper, former president of University of British Columbia, speaks about the first of two Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences (CASE) reports, commissioned by Canadian Heritage, during a news conference in Ottawa on Aug. 5, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK/Postmedia

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More than half of those students avoid wearing or displaying Jewish symbols — a damning statistic in a country that trumpets its diversity credentials.

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Universities Canada president Miller said that point resonated with him. “Nothing could be more contrary to the spirit of Canada, let alone our universities, than that,” he said. “(But) in addition to continuing to strengthen the response on campus, and giving this a national effort on behalf of universities, it’s going to require a much closer partnership between all the institutional players because antisemitism does not stop or start at the edge of campus.”

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Maybe not, but the other players seem to be ahead of our universities in addressing the problem.

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In his speech at a Toronto synagogue in June, Prime Minister Mark Carney called for public institutions to address the scourge of antisemitism.

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In a statement on the third anniversary of October 7, he said every Jewish Canadian has the right to be “visibly, fully, joyfully Jewish in public life, at school, at work, in the street, in synagogue, in every place that is theirs because Canada is theirs.”

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New laws strengthen protections against anti-hate and criminalize wilful promotion of hatred by publicly displaying certain symbols. After the attack last month on a synagogue in Belleville, Ont., the government issued a statement recognizing antisemitism as a matter of national security and “a core compound of many violent extremist ideologies.”

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Law enforcement is stepping up, with some setting up hate-crimes units and laying charges related to wilful promotion of antisemitism (the first successful prosecution was made last year, when Kenneth Paulin of North Bay, Ont. was sent to jail for online posts that denied the Holocaust and called Jews cockroaches and demons).

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The Ontario government’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has pledged to reduce the operational funding of universities that fail to comply with its directive to apply their own standards and policies. Interestingly, the ministry directive is clear that the institutions retain authority over (and responsibility for) student associations and groups operating on campus, when it comes to anti-hate and discrimination conduct.

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Jewish advocates such as Noah Shack, the CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, would like to see Ontario’s harder line adopted across the country.

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“I think it provides some of the clarity for universities that have failed to find clarity. It requires standardized reporting, resolution timelines for complaints, transparency, anti-hate training and security protocols to deal with intimidation … And where a university fails to follow the directive, it gives the minister the ability to withhold operational funding.”

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Now, the ball is in the court of the universities, which have at best shrugged at and at worst been complicit in the adoption of a cancel culture that rejects nuance, the benefit of the doubt and true diversity, in favour of one, increasingly narrow path of self-defined righteousness.