Jews subject to more hate crimes than any other group in Toronto in 2022

Jewish community represents 3.4 percent of Toronto population but are victimized in 26 percent of hate crimes

Toronto, ON – May 18, 2023 – The Toronto Police Service (TPS) has published their 2022 hate crimes report revealing that hate crimes targeting Jewish, Black, and LGBTQ2S+ populations remained the most commonly reported to police, representing 26, 19, and 16 percent of all hate crimes, respectively. Presented to the TPS Board today, the document counts 242 reported hate crimes in 2022, which reflects a six percent decrease compared to 2021, a level still well above the ten-year average of 173.

Key figures pertaining to the Jewish community:

• Toronto’s Jewish community was targeted in 63 reported hate crime incidents in 2022.
• Although comprising only 3.4 percent of the population of Toronto, the Jewish community was victimized in approximately 26 percent of all hate crimes.
• Hate crimes overall are down year-over-year by six percent, but hate crime targeting the Jewish community increased 14 percent between 2021 and 2022.
• Anti-Jewish hate crime has increased 50 percent over the last three years.
• The three most frequently reported criminal offences motivated by hate in 2022 were mischief to property, assault, and uttering threats.
  • The Jewish and Black communities were the most frequently victimized in occurrences of hate-motivated mischief to property.

In response to the report, Noah Shack, Vice President, GTA at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), released the following comment:

“We are concerned to see how severely hate crime is impacting Toronto’s Jewish, Black, and LGBTQ2S+ communities. Hate doesn’t just affect its targeted victims; it is corrosive to our entire society. A single hate crime targeting any group in our city is too many.

“Antisemitism is on the rise in Canada and around the world. The Jewish community is only 3.4 percent of Toronto’s population but was disproportionately targeted by 26 percent of reported hate crimes. It’s alarming that, while hate crimes in Toronto declined overall, incidents of Jew-hatred increased by 14 percent.

“The Toronto Police Service, under the leadership of Chief Myron Demkiw, has taken significant steps to address hate in our city, important work that must continue with support from all levels of government. It is imperative for all Torontonians to stand together against hate in all its forms, including antisemitism. Our leaders must speak out and act against hate to ensure safety and accountability and foster a welcoming and inclusive society for all.”

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• CIJA Press Release: 2021 Toronto Annual Hate Crime Report
• Statistics Canada police-reported hate crime data for 2021 revealed, once again, Jewish Canadians remain the most targeted religious minority for hate crime and second overall.
  • There are ten times more hate crimes against Jews reported than any other religious group across the country.
  • In Canada, according to Statistics Canada, more than one hate incident targeted Canada’s Jewish community every single day in 2021, on average. That’s more than nine per week or 40 per month.
• Not all hate crimes or incidents of antisemitism are reported or recorded. Not all incidents meet the threshold of a crime, especially in schools, so national hate-crime statistics do not accurately reflect total antisemitic incidents.
• Currently, no comprehensive hate incident data for schools are available nationally.
• Antisemitic events are on the rise in schools across Ontario, with more than 50 incidents involving antisemitic hate symbols occurring in the Toronto District School Board alone in the 2021-22 school year. Overall, in GTA schools during the last school year, on average, more than two antisemitic incidents per week were reported.
• In 2022, CIJA partnered with the Toronto Holocaust Museum and Facing History & Ourselves Canada to create Unlearn It, a ground-breaking educational resource to support parents and educators in teaching youth how to identify, unlearn, and stand against antisemitism both in person and online. The development of the program was funded by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Education.