Report Reveals Alarming Rise in Anti-Muslim Hate in Canada Since Gaza War
A recent report has documented a significant escalation in hate incidents targeting Muslims, Palestinians, and Arabs across Canada in the months following the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Titled "Documenting the 'Palestine Exception'", the report was released on Wednesday by Dr. Nadia Hasan of York University's Islamophobia Research Hub. It presents findings gathered from 16 Canadian organizations, public data, and media reports over the past 21 months.
“In the aftermath of Oct. 2023, Canada saw a rise in anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism that affects many areas of life and work for Canadians,” Hasan said during a news conference in Ottawa.
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The report describes this rise in hate as “sharp and dangerous.” In Toronto alone, police reported a staggering 1,600 percent year-over-year increase in anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic hate crimes between October 7 and November 20, 2023. Other regions saw even greater spikes.
Data from Statistics Canada for 2023 confirmed this trend, recording a 94 percent rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes and a 52 percent increase in attacks targeting Arabs and West Asians.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) stated that cases of Islamophobia increased by 1,300 percent in the month after October 7, reaching 1,800 percent by year’s end.
The Muslim Legal Support Centre (MLSC) reported 474 human rights complaints from October 2023 to March 2024. Of these, 345 involved individuals who either lost their jobs or were placed on leave due to expressing support for Palestine. Separately, the Legal Centre for Palestine reported a 600 percent surge in anti-Palestinian racism cases over eight months.
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Hasan emphasized that the statistics represent only a portion of the reality faced by affected communities.
“The information included in this report is based on interviews with these organisations, data that some of these organisations provided, publicly available data, as well as media reports from October 2023 to November 2024,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, stressed the urgency of addressing these growing threats.
“We see it in the censorship and silencing of Canadians who defend Palestinian human rights with real consequences on their livelihoods and on their futures,” she warned.
“Old tropes that surged after 9/11 are back, amplified by the far right and others, and used again to dehumanise our communities, especially Palestinian-Muslim and Arab-Canadians.”
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The report recommends adopting a clear definition of anti-Palestinian racism, improving accountability for hate-motivated crimes, and launching independent investigations into institutional responses—particularly in education and public services.
According to the report, this data is a first step toward shaping more inclusive and rights-based policies, calling the current wave of repression a "Palestine exception" that must be addressed through coordinated, systemic change.
Source: Agencies
