Hate Crimes in Canada

Barbara Perry

Like most other Western nations, Canada has had its share of bias-motivated violence—what is often called crime—throughout history. From the periodic assaults on First Nations communities, to the riotous attacks on Chinese laborers during the 1880s, to the recent spate of anti-Semitic violence in Montreal and Toronto, Canada may be less welcoming than its international image would suggest. This entry considers the racial/ethnic distribution of racially motivated hate crimes and summarizes hate crime legislation in Canada. As seems to be the case in the United States and the United Kingdom, race and/or ethnicity are the most common motivations for hate crimes in Canada, accounting for more than half of all bias-motivated crimes. Moreover, within these broad designations, anti-Semitic violence appears to be most common (typically 25%), followed by anti-Black violence (20%) and violence against those perceived to be Muslim (10%). The latter has become a particular matter of concern in ...

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