As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders warn of a rising tide of hate around the world, community groups in Canada say they91裸聊视频檙e getting more and more calls from frightened people.

At a media availability with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw last month, Trudeau said antisemitism is on the rise globally, and especially since Hamas91裸聊视频� terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Trudeau was in Poland to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

91裸聊视频淗olocaust denialism is on the rise, violent extremism is on the rise,91裸聊视频� Trudeau said. 91裸聊视频淗atred, not just against Jews, but against all different races and backgrounds, is on the rise in all of our democracies. And we have not yet responded forcefully enough, strongly enough.91裸聊视频�

Noah Shack, interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his organization has seen a massive increase in acts of antisemitism in Canada and around the world in the past year.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e seen synagogues firebombed all across this country, schools shot at in multiple cities. We91裸聊视频檝e seen mobs of violent protesters calling for the destruction of the Jewish people, calling for Jews to be sent back to Europe. We91裸聊视频檝e seen the flags of terrorist organizations waving proudly while Canadian flags are being burned,91裸聊视频� Shack said. 91裸聊视频淭his is a really distressing time for the Jewish community but I think it should be distressing for all Canadians.91裸聊视频�

Zaid Al-Rawni is CEO of Naseeha Mental Health, an organization that operates a mental health hotline. He said his organization has seen a 600 per cent increase in distress calls in the past year.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 causing them a lot of social anguish,91裸聊视频� said Al-Rawni. He added that most of the hotline91裸聊视频檚 users are Muslim and many are feeling that their faith is being questioned by other Canadians.

The hotline expanded this year to 24/7 service, after previously being available only a few hours a day and receiving a few hundred calls per month. It now gets a few thousand calls monthly and more people are now using the organization91裸聊视频檚 chat feature as well, Al-Rawni said.

He said that while he and his team initially thought the increase in volume would be temporary, it hasn91裸聊视频檛 diminished for more than a year.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e accepted the idea that this isn91裸聊视频檛 a blip,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭his is going to be the new normal.91裸聊视频�

Al-Rawni said some callers report that they91裸聊视频檙e feeling 91裸聊视频渃ensored91裸聊视频� at work or their careers have been derailed because of their faith. Others say they just don91裸聊视频檛 know how to process the images they91裸聊视频檙e seeing from the war in Gaza, or the expressions of Islamophobic hatred they91裸聊视频檙e reading online.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 clear that people are really anxious about how to deal with the horrors we91裸聊视频檝e all witnessed, how we fit in as a faith community to the wider mosaic of Canadian society, a lot of anxiety about the future,91裸聊视频� Al-Rawni said. 91裸聊视频淎dd to that the kind of lurching right in the world 91裸聊视频� the world seems to be making less space for each other.91裸聊视频�

The latest Statistics Canada data on hate crimes in Canada shows that between 2022 and 2023, the total number of police-reported hate crimes increased from 3,612 to 4,777. The reported number of hate crimes has been rising steadily over the last few years.

Statistics Canada says that in 2023, 2,128 police-reported crimes were found to be motivated by race or ethnicity, while 1,284 cases were said to be motivated by religion.

Of those police-reported hate crimes, 900 targeted Jewish people, 784 targeted Black people, 228 targeted South Asian people and 211 targeted Muslim people. Sexual orientation was the motivation for 860 of the reported crimes.

A 2019 Statistics Canada survey said that Canadians self-reported being the victim of more than 223,000 hate crimes 91裸聊视频� and only about one incident in five was reported to police.

Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said the Statistics Canada data on police-reported hate crimes is 91裸聊视频渘ot representative of reality91裸聊视频� because Canada doesn91裸聊视频檛 collect 91裸聊视频渁ny kind of accurate or representative data on the amount or type of racism and other forms of hate that are experienced by groups.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭hat said, all the imperfect data suggests, and organizations that represent particular communities will agree, that things are getting worse,91裸聊视频� he said.

Shack said it91裸聊视频檚 critical for laws to be enforced and for communities to be kept safe, both through community-based solutions and by ensuring that police have the resources that they need.

91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 think that our public institutions have done enough to push back against it and to make it clear and unequivocal that that kind of stuff does not belong in this country,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭here needs to be a unified approach across all levels of government.91裸聊视频�

Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani told the Canadian Bar Association91裸聊视频檚 annual general meeting on Tuesday that 91裸聊视频渨e all need to stand together against hatred.91裸聊视频�

He said that as a racialized Muslim he knows 91裸聊视频渢oo well91裸聊视频� the devastating impact crimes can have. He said Canada leads the G7 in the number of deaths linked to Islamophobic hatred 91裸聊视频� 11 since 2017.

91裸聊视频淚t has likewise been devastating to me to see other communities face a terrible rise in hate crime, including, and especially in the past year, the Jewish community right across the country,91裸聊视频� Virani said, adding that he will host a national forum on combating antisemitism next month.

Sabah Ghouse, program coordinator for the Islamophobia Legal Assistance Hotline, said the number of calls her organization receives doubled between 2023 and 2024.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e received cases such as violence against Muslims in the forms of physical and verbal attacks. We91裸聊视频檝e also seen workplace discrimination, discrimination at schools and universities, tenancy-related issues as well as defamation and negligence,91裸聊视频� she said.

Ghouse said people are 91裸聊视频渄efinitely scared.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淣o tangible solution has been put into place to combat Islamophobia,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲e need those in power and leadership, such as politicians, to unequivocally stand with Muslims and against Islamophobia. And we91裸聊视频檙e not seeing that, unless it91裸聊视频檚 for election cycles, or when a terror attack against Muslims occurs.91裸聊视频�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press