Combatting hate in Canada

Everyone, regardless of their identity, deserves to feel safe in Canada. However, over the last number of years there has been a concerning rise in hate in Canada. When left unchecked, hate can have devastating consequences for our communities and our country.

Hateful words and actions that target people based on their race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, age, mental or physical disability or any other personal characteristic have no place in Canada.

How we are taking action

Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate is the Government of Canada’s first-ever action plan on confronting hate. The Plan brings together a whole-of-government approach to confronting hate by empowering communities, increasing research and data gathering, and building partnerships, to create a Canada that is free of all forms of hate.

Concrete measures to prevent and address hate are organized under 3 pillars

• Pillar 1: Empower communities to identify and prevent hate

  Strong, inclusive and digitally-literate communities are the key to preventing hate spreading both online and offline. Measures under this pillar focus on:

  • empowering communities as actors of change
  • supporting community organizations’ efforts to prevent hate
  • advancing anti-racism, equity, and diversity and inclusion within the media and cultural sectors

• Pillar 2: Support victims and survivors, and protect communities

  There are gaps and inconsistencies in available specialized services for victims and survivors of hate-motivated crimes. Measures under this pillar focus on:

  • providing resources to victims, survivors and communities to address hate
  • improving the access and availability of data to better inform the federal government’s efforts against hate

• Pillar 3: Build community trust, partnerships and institutional readiness

  Building trust between agencies that respond to instances of hate and affected communities is critical. Measures under this pillar focus on:

  • strengthening coordination between key actors
  • improving capacity among law enforcement, security, and intelligence services to monitor, prevent, and investigate hate incidents and crimes

Funding opportunities

• Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Programs
• Victims Fund
• Funding programs for women and gender equality
• National Anti-Racism Fund

Funded Project Stories

• Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth

  Original Slur: History of Racist Language Toward Indigenous Peoples

  In the heart of Calgary, the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth has inspired Indigenous youth from different nations to reclaim their narratives by delving into the painful legacy of derogatory language towards Indigenous communities using art-based filmmaking. With support from Department of Canadian Heritage’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program, youth crafted four mini-documentaries, each looking into the history, legacy, and impact of a specific slur. Guided by language experts, Indigenous Elders and community members through this journey of understanding, they explored how these words continue to inflict harm and contribute to poor social outcomes that Indigenous Peoples still face to this day. These documentaries will be shared online to spark conversations, prevent further perpetuation of stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes, foster a deeper appreciation for Indigenous cultures and histories, and support the work towards healing and reconciliation.

• Canadian Council of Muslim Women

  Digital Anti-Racism Education (DARE)

  The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) expanded the Digital Anti-Racism Education (DARE), a project aimed at countering offline and online hate targeting Muslim women and girls identifying as Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+, Francophone, and Muslim women and girls living with disabilities. The funding enabled the CCMW to hold workshops on anti-Islamophobia and anti-racism in 16 cities across Canada and produce #Hate2Healing, a social media video campaign to raise public awareness of the harms of Islamophobia and racism. The workshops covered topics including how to recognize online hate speech and extremism, how to respond to harmful rhetoric, and how Islamophobia further marginalizes people in the Muslim community. As of August 2024, CCMW has conducted more than 100 workshops and reached close to 7,000 participants across Canada.

• Jewish Family Services

  Tikkun Olam: Fighting Racism and Anti-Semitism

  In Edmonton, the Jewish Family Services ran training sessions that gave community members the tools to intervene in everyday instances of racism and antisemitism. The project also offered opportunities for communities to share their experiences and work together to address different forms of discrimination. The educational workshops focused on fostering intercultural understanding, building bridges across communities, while allowing respectful and crucial conversations about Jewish identity and belonging to take place. The project also included the creation of an eight-episode podcast series that centred on these same issues and featured the voices, opinions, and stories of communities subjected to racism and antisemitism. Their efforts reached far and wide, empowering participants with the tools to respond to hate and challenge prevailing stereotypes.

• Black Community Resource Centre

  Can We Talk

  The Black Community Resource Centre implemented the research and video project Can We Talk in Montreal and elsewhere. The project allowed Black youth to investigate systemic racism and discrimination focusing on four institutional sectors: health, education, employment and justice. To help them with their mission, youth were invited to sharpen their knowledge and skills through empowering workshops, after which they went on to produce robust research and create a powerful video series that shed light on crucial societal issues related to systemic racism, discrimination, and representation. The project served as a catalyst for change by mobilizing 20 participants and engaging over 2,000 individuals through interviews, community forums, and focus groups. Through their voices and actions, the young leaders of the project ignited conversations, raised awareness, and inspired change towards a more equitable future for all communities across Quebec.

• Centre international Philojeunes

  PhiloJeunes-parlementaires

  In Quebec, the PhiloJeunes-parlementaires project brought together high school students from different parts of the province and France for a journey of dialogue and citizenship education. Through weekly workshops and video conferences, the students discussed pressing social issues and challenges, such as racism, discrimination, and radicalization. Along the way, they developed critical thinking skills, felt a greater sense of global connection, and deepened their understanding of other youth from different cultures and places. The project helped build bridges and promote dialogue, empowering young minds to envision a more equitable society and become agents of positive change within their communities and beyond.

• Recreation Nova Scotia

  Nova Scotia Anti-Racism and Discrimination Charter in Recreation

  Recreation Nova Scotia recognized a need for making the recreation sector more welcoming and representative. With funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, Recreation Nova Scotia engaged with the local community to develop and launch the Anti-Racism Charter in Recreation. Over 30 municipalities and organizations have signed onto the Anti-Racism Charter, demonstrating their commitment to taking action against systemic barriers that prevent equal participation in recreation, parks, fitness, sport, aquatics, camping, and arts and culture. The project also offered training to recreation providers on confronting and responding to racist and discriminatory behaviours, thereby reducing incidents of hate within recreational activities. By building meaningful partnerships and collaboration across the recreation sector and beyond, Recreation Nova Scotia is making sure that sport, leisure, arts, and culture remain powerful tools in bringing diverse communities together.

Related and complementary initiatives

• Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028
• Canada’s Black Justice Strategy
• Canada’s National Hate Crimes Task Force
• Digital Citizen Initiative
• Disability Inclusion Action Plan
• Disaggregated Data Action Plan
• Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan
• Federal Gender-Based Violence Strategy
• Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People
• Federal Victims Strategy
• Indigenous Justice Strategy
• National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (federal-provincial/territorial government)
• National Crime Prevention Strategy
• National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan 2023-2028
• United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent (Government of Canada’s action as part of the decade)

Educational resources

• Public Safety’s Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention - Knowledge, Learning and Research
• Justice Canada - Information Products
• Justice Canada - Canada’s State of the Criminal Justice System
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Hate-Motivated Crimes and Incidents
• Statistics Canada - Police-reported Information Hub: Hate Crime in Canada
• Canadian Race Relations Foundation - Find Resources
• Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism
• Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia
• Federal Ombudperson for Victims of Crime
• Canada School of Public Service

Select official statistics

• Police-reported Information Hub: Hate Crime in Canada
• Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2023
• Infographic: Police-reported hate crime in Canada, 2022
• Online hate and aggression among young people in Canada
• Half of racialized people have experienced discrimination or unfair treatment in the past five years
• Victimization of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada
• Experiences of discrimination among the Black and Indigenous populations in Canada, 2019
• Experiences of discrimination in daily life among Chinese people in Canada, and their perceptions of and experiences with the police and the justice system
• Discrimination before and since the start of the pandemic
• Portrait of the social, political and economic participation of racialized groups
• Workers’ experiences of inappropriate sexualized behaviours, sexual assault and gender-based discrimination in the Canadian provinces, 2020
• Areas with high rates of hate crime also report lower scores on quality of life indicators

Canadian legislation and international human rights instruments

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
• The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1970)
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)
• The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)
• The Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988)
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007)
• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2021