OTTAWA, Canada | Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared that antisemitism in Canada has surged to levels not seen in the postwar period, using his Rosh Hashanah message to acknowledge the continuing national crisis facing Jewish Canadians and outline federal measures intended to strengthen their security.
In an official statement issued Sept. 11, Carney said Jewish communities were entering the new year after three years of sharply elevated antisemitism.
โFor the past three years, antisemitism in Canada has surged to levels not seen in the post-war period,โ Carney said. โIt is unacceptable, and it is in direct contradiction to our foundational Canadian values.โ
The statement did not identify a new threat or specific antisemitic incident.
Instead, it represented one of the federal governmentโs clearest acknowledgments that the environment confronting Canadian Jews is not temporary or isolated, but a sustained national problem requiring government action.
Carney Says Jewish Canadians Must Be Able to Live Openly
Carney framed Jewish security as a basic responsibility of Canadian citizenship.
โCanadians, regardless of faith, origin, or identity, deserve to live freely, openly, and safely,โ he said.
Carney described that principle as the โCanadian covenantโ and said the federal government is responsible for protecting it.
The prime minister said the government wants Jewish Canadians to be able to live โvisibly, fully, and joyfully Jewish in public life.โ
That language is significant at a time when synagogues, schools and community organizations across Canada continue to operate with heightened security.
Carney has used similar language previously.
In June, he said Canadian Jewish communities were experiencing antisemitism at levels not seen in the postwar period and noted that more than two-thirds of religion-motivated police-reported hate crimes in the previous year targeted Jews, despite Jewish Canadians comprising approximately one per cent of the population.
Combatting Hate Act Now in Force
Carney highlighted the federal Combatting Hate Act as one of the governmentโs principal responses.
The legislation received Royal Assent in June and came into force July 18.
Among its provisions are new Criminal Code offenses addressing intimidation and obstruction at places of worship, schools, community centers and other institutions used by identifiable groups.
The law also addresses the public display of certain symbols associated with listed terrorist organizations, Nazi imagery and other hate-related conduct when the legal requirements of the offenses are met.
The federal government has emphasized that the legislation does not prohibit peaceful protest, political advocacy, religious teaching or criticism.
Carney specifically cited protections surrounding houses of worship, schools and community centers in his Rosh Hashanah statement.
The provisions are particularly relevant to Jewish communities because demonstrations, harassment and intimidation have repeatedly occurred outside synagogues, Jewish schools and community facilities since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Additional $75 Million for Community Security
Carney also pointed to an additional $75 million committed to the Canada Community Security Program.
The program provides financial assistance to communities considered at risk of hate-motivated crime and incidents.
Eligible expenses can include security infrastructure, training, and security personnel for faith-based and community organizations.
The funding has become increasingly important to Jewish institutions that have had to devote substantial resources to security.
Synagogues and Jewish schools in many Canadian cities routinely employ security personnel, install reinforced doors and surveillance systems, and coordinate with local police.
During major Jewish holidays, those measures are often expanded.
Carney said the additional federal funding is intended to support institutions facing those risks.
Federal Government Calls Antisemitism a National Problem
The Rosh Hashanah statement builds on a broader federal policy announced earlier this year.
In June, Carney directed a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion to begin its work by examining antisemitism across Canadian society.
The government tasked the council with reassessing the scale and causes of antisemitism in public institutions, workplaces, campuses and online spaces.
It was also instructed to develop a whole-of-government approach and improve the collection and sharing of hate-related data.
The federal governmentโs language has therefore shifted beyond responding individually to hate crimes.
Ottawa is increasingly treating antisemitism as a systemic public-safety and social-cohesion issue.
Political Disputes Over Israel Continue
Carneyโs statement also comes during renewed tensions between the federal government and Jewish organizations over Canadian policy toward Israel.
Only three days before the Rosh Hashanah message, Canada joined Britain and France in announcing measures targeting goods associated with Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, commonly referred to internationally as the West Bank.
The governments said the measures were intended to protect prospects for a two-state solution and respond to settlement expansion.
Jewish organizations have criticized aspects of Ottawaโs Israel policy, arguing that increasingly punitive measures toward Israel can contribute to an environment in which Canadian Jews and Zionists face intensified hostility.
The government maintains that criticism of Israeli policy and protection of Jewish Canadians are separate responsibilities.
That tension is likely to remain part of the national antisemitism debate.
Official Recognition of a Continuing Crisis
Carneyโs Rosh Hashanah statement does not introduce new hate-crime statistics.
It does not announce a specific threat.
And it does not claim that the federal measures adopted this year have resolved the problem.
Its significance is the level of official acknowledgment.
Canadaโs prime minister is publicly describing antisemitism as having reached levels unseen during the entire postwar period.
That places the issue well beyond isolated acts of vandalism, harassment or violence.
It defines antisemitism as a continuing national crisis.
Carney closed his message by invoking the traditional symbolism of Rosh Hashanah and the sounding of the shofar as a call to renewal.
โOur work is never finished, and new beginnings are always possible,โ he said.
For Jewish Canadians entering 5787, the federal governmentโs challenge will be whether its new laws, security funding and policy commitments translate into a measurable improvement in the ability of Jews to live openly and safely in Canada.
Carney ended with the traditional New Year greeting:
โShana Tova.โ
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