Antisemitism in Canada is the manifestation of hatred, hostility, harm, prejudice or discrimination against the Canadian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group.
[3] Influential figures of the age, such as Goldwin Smith, promoted antisemitic ideas in the 19th century, describing Jews in derogatory terms.
[7] During the interwar period, figures like Abbé Lionel Groulx further fueled anti-Semitic views,[8] influencing Quebec’s intellectual elite and leading to movements that boycotted Jewish businesses and employment, most notably the Days of Shame.
[17] Despite Canada's progressive attitudes towards diversity in the 21st century, antisemitism persists as a small component of Canadian society, evident in random hate crimes and extremist groups.
[18][19] Notably, anti-Jewish incidents surged in response to the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war and the geopolitical relevance of accusations that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.
[20][21] On April 11, 1807, Jewish politician Ezekiel Hart was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada over three other candidates, obtaining 59 out of the 116 votes cast.
[28][29] In Ontario, many restaurants, shops, golf clubs, and resorts would only serve non-Jewish clientele and signs like "No Jews Allowed" or "Gentiles Only" were found on many beaches as well.
His party's actions resulted in antisemitic rallies, boycotts, propaganda and literature, and the inception of several other Nazi-like organizations throughout Canada.
[31] The hospital administration did arrange another internship post for Dr. Rabinovitch in St. Louis, Missouri, where he remained until 1940, after which he returned to Montréal and a medical practice.
These were agreements among owners of properties to not sell or rent to members of certain races, including Jews, or were clauses registered against deeds by land developers that restricted ownership based on racial origin.
[30] In 1989, Alberta public school teacher James Keegstra was convicted under the Criminal Code for "wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group".
On May 18, 2010, a Jewish public servant won "a major human rights victory"[38] against the federal government after complaining that her workplace at the Ottawa headquarters of Passport Canada was poisoned by antisemitism.
"[40] The public servant launched first an internal grievance against her department in January 2007 alleging breaches of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) and the no discrimination clause of the collective agreement with her employer.
She subsequently took her case to adjudication to the Federal Public Service Labour Relations Board (FPSLREB) seeking among others damages for pain and suffering, and an admission by the government that her rights were violated.
In November 2011 an antisemitic attack took place at the south Winnipeg high school when a teen approached a 15-year-old girl as they crossed paths near his locker and began talking to her.
[42] On April 12, 2012, several Jewish-owned summer homes in Val-Morin, Quebec were broken into and defaced with swastikas and antisemitic messages.
The total number of reported incidents that occurred on an antisemitic basis was 52, which makes the Jewish community the most targeted population with regard to assaults.
According to a phone survey of 510 Canadians conducted by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) in 2013–2014, an estimated 14% (+/− 4.4%) of the adult population in Canada harbor substantial antisemitic opinions.
The report found that the Jewish community makes up only 3.8% of the religious population in the City of Toronto but was victimized in approximately 23% of the total hate/bias crimes in 2015.
[60] It is argued that this form of hate targets Israel, consisting of and fed by allegations of Israeli "war crimes" and similar claims.
Anti-Israel actions that led to the formation of a Parliamentary Coalition included boycott campaigns on university campuses and in some churches, spilling over into attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions and individuals.
[74] In November 2023, an Israeli Jewish student encountered harassment at school when three peers engaged in physical aggression, verbally expressing intentions to "do to him what Hamas did to Israel".
[75] In April 2024, another incident occurred in the Canadian province of New Brunswick where an Israeli Jewish teenage girl was assaulted by a fellow student, resulting in her being thrown to the ground and subjected to physical violence.
[84] In July 2024, Mount Royal Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather, who is Jewish, was labeled a neo-Nazi in flyers with a swastika photoshopped into where the Star of David should be on an Israeli flag.
Canada's Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism Deborah Lyons wrote on social media that "the sign was not only targeting Housefather but all Jewish Canadians, most of whom identified as Zionists.
[86] Also in July 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed MP Anthony Housefather as his adviser on Canadian Jewish community and antisemitism.
[92] On Yom Kippur, 12 October 2024, the Bais Chaya Mushka girls school in Toronto was hit by gunfire for the second time in a few months; police believe that the incidents are connected.
[95] Yves Engler, writing in the Palestine Chronicle, argues that the Canadian media focuses too much on antisemitism at the expense of anti-Palestinian racism.