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Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate

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An Acknowledgement to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada

The land that all individuals in Canada live on and enjoy, including the offices of Canadian Heritage are on the traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples. The national headquarters in Gatineau, Quebec are on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe People, whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. This is a place that has long served as a site of meeting and exchange between nations.

Readers are encouraged to participate in reconciliation by educating themselves on the traditional territory on which they reside, the histories, cultures and ways of being of the Indigenous Peoples that inhabited these territories before contact with Europeans and the history of settler colonialism.

In keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, the Government of Canada is committed to achieving reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples through a renewed, nation-to-nation, government-to-government, and Inuit-Crown relationship.

Confronting hate demands the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership. This work must be done in partnership with federal, provincial and territorial governments, and Indigenous Peoples, including families and survivors, Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQI+ partners, and Indigenous-led organizations. The Government of Canada aims to ensure that sustainable, equitable, and meaningful progress is made towards breaking down barriers, ending systemic racism and discrimination, closing socio-economic gaps, and promoting greater equality and prosperity for Indigenous Peoples.

Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate and related federal efforts demonstrate that the Government of Canada recognizes the work it needs to do to ensure equity, safety, and respect for Indigenous Peoples and its commitment to taking action.

Message from the Prime Minister

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau

The Right Honourable
Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada

Hate has no place in Canada. When hate occurs in any part of our country, it is an attack on the values of kindness, compassion, and diversity – universal values that Canadians share. Unfortunately, far too many people living in Canada continue to be targeted by hate. Whether it is bullying or harassment or violent extremism, hate-related incidents are on the rise in Canada. This must stop.

The federal government is taking action to make communities safer, including by tackling hate. Our work is spearheaded by Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028– an ambitious, comprehensive plan to make Canada more inclusive, encourage voices with different experiences to lead and ensure the federal government reflects the Canada it serves. There’s more work to be done.

Today, we are launching Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate. With this plan, we are working in partnership with community experts, advocates, law enforcement, and survivors to tackle hate across the country. This plan will empower communities with the resources they need to identify and prevent hate, increase supports to victims and survivors, and create a coordinated approach across government to protect Canadians. This includes more coordination between law enforcement and at-risk communities, enhanced readiness, and increased collaboration with provincial and territorial governments.

Our commitment to the safety and security of Canadians is ironclad. Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate is our next step forward to secure this commitment with tangible, direct action to protect our communities. Together, we can build a better, safer Canada for everyone – where regardless of your skin colour, gender, religion, or identity – you can reach your full potential, without discrimination or exclusion. A safer Canada is a more prosperous Canada.

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau,
Prime Minister of Canada

Foreword from the Minister

The Honourable Kamal Khera

The Honourable Kamal Khera,
Minister of Diversity,
Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

Everyone, regardless of who they are or where they are from, deserves to feel safe in Canada. However, in recent years, Canada, along with the rest of the world, has witnessed a dramatic rise in hatred, both in our communities and online. If left unchecked, this hatred could have devastating consequences for our communities, our country, and all Canadians.

Our government strongly believes that all forms of hatred have no place in Canada. Hateful words and actions that target individuals based on their race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, age, ability, or any other personal characteristic are deeply unacceptable.

The alarming rise in hatred requires all of us to confront it together, now. The cost of inaction for our communities and for Canadians is far too great. Hatred and harmful content sows division, can lead to violence, threatens national security and democracy, and endangers the well-being of all Canadians. Further, hatred runs counter to who we are as Canadians, threatening our fundamental values of empathy, diversity, and inclusion – the very foundations of what makes Canada a vibrant and beautiful place to live.

To that end, I am pleased to present Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate, our country's first-ever action plan on confronting hate. This Action Plan takes an ambitious, whole-of-government approach, bringing together new and existing initiatives to combat hate wherever it exists. It also calls upon all of us to examine how we can collectively take responsibility within our own communities and foster inclusive environments.

The Action Plan reflects the key priorities of at-risk and affected communities, who have expressed the need for greater investments in community safety, support for victims of hate, funding for community organizations, increased intersectional and disaggregated data, changes to legislation and greater resources for law enforcement. It also highlights the importance of public awareness, training, and educational tools. This Action Plan will guide our government’s actions and investments in a coordinated way, establishing accountability and transparency measures.

The promise of Canada is that everyone should be able to live, play, and raise their families in their community without fear. This Action Plan ensures that this promise holds true, so every generation of Canadians—present and future—can thrive in a country that is safe, fair, and truly free.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Kamal Khera,
Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

Introduction

Hate hurts us all and every person in Canada deserves to feel safe and to be treated with dignity.

Defining “Hate”

The Supreme Court of Canada (1990) defined “hatred” in the landmark R. v. Keegstra caseFootnote 1, as referring to an extreme emotion that, if exercised against members of an identifiable group, implies that those individuals are to be despised, scorned, denied respect, and made subject to ill treatment on the basis of group affiliation. The Court explained that the term “hatred” is clearly associated with vilification and detestation.

Statistics Canada — Police-reported Information Hub notes that “hate crime may be carried out against a person or property and may be motivated in whole or in part by race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, age, mental or physical disability, immigration status or any other similar factor”.

In the same vein, hate is also rooted in white supremacy, racism, colonialism, ethnonational idealism, misogyny, antisemitism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, ableism, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia.

Some of these key terms are defined in the glossary of Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028, the Government of Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ terminology - Glossary and common acronyms and Guide on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology.

Police-reported hate crimes have increased dramatically over the past few years and continue to disproportionately target Indigenous Peoples, Black, racialized, religious minority, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, women, as well as persons with disabilities. These have added to alarming rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and unmarked children’s graves and burial sites at former residential schools. The statistical snapshot below illustrates how hate affects these communities.

Statistical Snapshot: Hate is on the rise

  • According to the July 2024 Statistics Canada data release, the number of police-reported hate crimes increased from 3,612 incidents in 2022 to 4,777 in 2023 (+32%), even though some victims might not report a hate crime they experienced. This followed an 8% increase in 2022, and a 72% increase from 2019 to 2021. Overall, the number of police-reported hate crimes (+145%) has more than doubled since 2019.
  • From 2022 to 2023, hate crimes targeting Muslim individuals rose by 94% to 211; hate crimes targeting Jewish individuals rose 71% to 900; hate crimes targeting other religions (e.g., Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist) rose by 37% to 85.
  • Black persons continue to be targets of the greatest number of police-reported hate crimes targeting a race or an ethnicity (in 2023 they accounted for 37%).
  • In 2022, 73% of victims of hate crimes targeting sex or gender were women or girls; Indigenous women and girls for example, are 12 times more likely to face violence than non-Indigenous women and face a homicide rate seven times higher than non-Indigenous women.
  • Hate crimes targeting a sexual orientation increased by 69% in 2023. In 2022, nearly three-quarters (74%) of hate crimes targeting a sexual orientation specifically targeted the gay and lesbian population, while the remainder targeted the bisexual population (1%) and people of another sexual orientation that is not heterosexual, such as asexual and pansexual people (15%), or where the targeted sexual orientation was reported as unknown (9%).
  • Statistics Canada highlights that incidents motivated by hatred of gender diverse people were more often violent in nature, with 80% of incidents involving a violent violation.
  • According to the General Social Survey on Victimization from 2019, rates of violent victimization were almost 3 times higher among those with a disability (141 incidents per 1,000) than among those without.

Several recent hate-motivated crimes and terrorist attacks have shocked the country by their intensity and frequency. Among these are the Islamophobic January 2017 Quebec City Mosque attack, the 2018 Toronto van attack motivated by hate against women, the London, Ontario, 2021 terrorist attack against a Muslim family, and the 2023 attack against a University of Waterloo gender studies class. Antisemitism also continues to rise in Canada, including multiple synagogues, and Jewish community centres, businesses and day schools being shot at, firebombed, vandalized, and threatened within the past year.

Most recently, the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israel-Hamas conflict exacerbated the increasing rates of hate incidents experienced by Jewish and Muslim communities, and their places of worship, schools, community centres, and properties have been targeted across the country.

Global hate rhetoric increased exponentially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The rise in anti-Asian hate can be attributed to misinformation being disseminated online by white supremacist right-wing groups and further pushed into the public discourse by political and other public figures.Footnote 2 The global mobilization of racist discourse is in part due to these online networks. Further, fueled by an “anti-gender” movement, which operates on and offline, hate crimes and incidents against 2SLGBTQI+ communities are also a reality and are at risk of increasing.Footnote 3

Physical manifestations of hate are compounded by the rising threat of online hate, which is fomented by yet another growing reality of misinformation and disinformation.

Hate Crime or Hate Incident?

A hate crime “is a criminal act against a person or property that is motivated in whole or in part by hate or bias against an identifiable group”.

A hate incident is similar to a hate crime but doesn't “meet the criminal threshold under the Criminal Code. In other words, hate-motivated incidents are non-criminal actions or behaviours that are motivated by hate against an individual or identifiable group”.

It should be noted that “police-reported data on hate crimes reflect only incidents that come to the attention of police and that are subsequently classified as confirmed or suspected hate-motivated crimes”. Furthermore, according to the 2019 General Social Survey on Victimization (the 2019 cycle is the most recent), approximately one in five incidents perceived as being motivated by hate were reported by the person who was targeted to the police in the 12 months preceding the survey. This is in part because “[g]eneral awareness among the community and the expertise of local police, and the relationship between a given community and the police, can play a role in whether and how a crime is reported. These and other factors can impact whether a hate crime comes to the attention of the police”.

Sources: Glossary of Terms – Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Understanding and addressing hate-motivated crime and The Daily — Police-reported hate crime, 2022

Government action is needed to confront hate because everyone, without exception, is impacted. While victims and survivors undoubtedly share the heaviest burden, witnessing hate and living in fear is also a form of impact. People living in areas with high rates of hate crimes report lower feelings of social inclusion and belonging, which in turn can weaken physical and mental health, costing victims, survivors, and health systems.Footnote 4 Hate also limits individual and whole communities’ access to education and income opportunities, preventing them from enjoying the full benefits of society. Not only is hate an attack on a person’s human rights, which are enshrined in Canada’s laws (Annex A), it is also an attack on the fundamental values that underpin our society, contributes to social fragmentation, and incites acts of violence impacting everyone who calls Canada home as well as national security. Hate not only hurts those it targets but also affects the broader community.

Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate (the Action Plan) lays the foundation for the Government of Canada’s robust response to the growing threat of hate. It lays out a vision that addresses emerging and evolving manifestations of hate experienced by individuals and communities in Canada. This Action Plan aims not only to do prevention work and address the fissures in our society, but also to improve intergroup relations within Canada, fostering connection, safety, belonging, and trust.

Preventing and confronting hate in our communities results in safer, healthier communities and neighbourhoods where everyone can thrive and grow together.

The Action Plan is part of the Government of Canada's work to build a more resilient, safer, inclusive, and equitable country for all. In addition to complementing Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028, the Action Plan is aligned with other existing federal efforts to address systemic racism, discrimination, violence and extremism, including the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples Act and the government’s broader reconciliation agenda, the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the Federal Gender-Based Violence Strategy, Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan, and the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence (Annex B contains more related federal government measures).

Confronting hate requires collaboration with all orders of government to ensure success and efficiency. As such, the Action Plan is also designed to lay the foundation for collaboration with provinces and territories, as well as First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners. Recognizing that the federal government is responsible for providing services to specific populations under its jurisdiction (e.g., First Nations people on reserve, newly arrived immigrants and refugees), provincial and territorial governments are responsible for direct programs and service delivery in critical areas such as security infrastructure, health care and services, and the administration of justice.

Online Hate

Everyone in Canada should be able to access an online environment where they can express themselves freely, without fearing for their safety or their life. Due to speed and efficiency of online communication, online hate has the potential to drive social division and encourage further violence. According to Statistics Canada’s The Daily, the overall number of cyber-related hate crimes directed at any age group has increased from 92 reported incidents in 2018 to 219 incidents in 2022. In 2022, young Canadians aged 15 to 24 were the most likely of any age group to have seen content online over the previous 12 months that incites hate or violence.

Radicalization propaganda is a form of hate that is increasingly spread in online digital environments, often manifesting as misinformation or disinformation. White supremacy groups, and now those considered to be the “alternative right” have historically harnessed the power of online technologies to recruit and radicalize outside of organizations’ borders.Footnote 5 The structure of our information environments has enabled unprecedented online harassment, helped connect and organize hate groups and conspiracy theorists, and facilitated the rapid proliferation of harmful misinformation and disinformation with divisive and consequential impacts on the resiliency of citizens and communities. Digital literacy is important to help people identify misinformation and stop spreading it.

Canada is signatory to the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, which is a global pledge by 56 governments, including Canada, as well as online service providers and civil society organizations to coordinate and collaborate on efforts to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This initiative, launched on May 15, 2019, followed the terrorist mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand which resulted in the death of 51 individuals, the country’s deadliest attack.

On February 26, 2024, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-63, which proposes to create a new Online Harms Act to make social media services, including livestreaming and certain adult content services, responsible for reducing users’ exposure to harmful content on their platforms, including online hate. The Bill also proposes changes to the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), and An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of internet child pornography by persons who provide an internet service to enhance the safety of people in Canada. More information on Bill C-63 is available online and in Annex B.

What We Heard

The Action Plan is informed by cross-Canada engagement and consultation activities organized by the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat, including two national summits on antisemitism and Islamophobia, one national forum on anti-Black racism, and 21 roundtables convened by the Minister responsible for Diversity and Inclusion, as well as an online survey answered by over 23,000 respondents in Canada. The Action Plan is also informed by community engagement conducted by the 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat for the development of the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, three Public Safety Canada-led roundtables on the Security Infrastructure Program, as well as research and recommendations from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF).

Key recommendations include:

The July 2021 national summits on Islamophobia and antisemitism provided opportunities for conversations with community leaders to better understand the issues experienced by their communities. Attendees identified ways the federal government should work to implement federal initiatives that address antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate-fueled violence. This led to the following Government of Canada commitmentsFootnote 6 – and several of these will be further advanced under the Action Plan:

What We Know: The Intersectionality of Hate

Everyone has multiple and diverse factors of identity that intersect; these layers of factors impact how individuals understand and experience hate. As such, this Action Plan was developed with Canada’s Gender-Based Analysis (GBA) Plus, an analytical tool that supports the development of responsive and inclusive initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the groups of people most impacted by hate; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. This Action Plan is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to better understand the experiences and needs of individuals living in Canada who face multiple forms of oppression and discrimination.

Taking an intersectional approach like the one to inform and develop the Action Plan is crucial because it can reveal gaps in research and Canadian policies. For example, the number of police-reported hate crimes in Canada rose 32% from 2022 to 2023 - mostly due to increases in hate crimes targeting a religion (+67%) or sexual orientation (+69%). Statistics like these reveal that effective policy solutions require an intersectional inquiry into how and why specific groups of people experience hate crimes. A GBA Plus approach also seeks to identify the systemic drivers which have led to certain communities being targeted.

At-A-Glance: Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate

Hate manifests in different ways and requires distinct and tailored responses. Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate demonstrates strong federal leadership by bringing together new and existing federal initiatives to confront hate in its various forms.

Priorities for Action

In pursuit of these goals, priority areas for action are organized as follows:

Measures

Alongside all of the existing initiatives outlined in Annex B, the following measures will be advanced as part of the Action Plan.

Pillar 1: Empower Communities to Identify and Prevent Hate

  • Additional funding for initiatives that prevent and address hate in Canada, including building community capacity, through the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program. $25 million over five years (Canadian Heritage)
  • Launching the Changing Narratives Fund. $10 million over three years (Canadian Heritage)
  • Funding for Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. $7.3 million over six years and $1.1 million ongoing (Canadian Heritage)
  • Funding for Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. $7.3 million over six years and $1.1 million ongoing (Canadian Heritage)
  • Additional funding to support the construction of the new Montréal Holocaust Museum. $5 million over two years (Canadian Heritage)
  • Create a new National Holocaust Remembrance Program to support initiatives that seek to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and help improve Canadians’ understanding, awareness towards the Holocaust and antisemitism. $5 million over five years and $2 million ongoing (Canadian Heritage)
  • Additional support for projects that build and sustain 2SLGBTQI+ community resilience against hate and discrimination. $12 million over five years (Women and Gender Equality Canada)
  • Additional funding to the Community Resilience Fund to prevent radicalization, extreme forms of hate, and hate-motivated violence, including violent extremism. $19.5 million over three years (See also Pillar 3) (Public Safety Canada - Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence)

Pillar 2: Support Victims and Survivors and Protect Communities

  • Improve the collection and availability of hate crime data. $12.9 million over six years and $0.9 million ongoing (Statistics Canada via Canadian Heritage funding)
  • Provision of assistance and supports to victims of hate-motivated crimes through the Federal Victims Strategy’s Victims Fund. $28 million over six years (Justice Canada)
  • Launching a new Canada Community Security Program. $32 million over six years and $11 million ongoing (Public Safety Canada)
  • Support security needs for Pride festivals. $3 million over two years (Women and Gender Equality Canada)

Pillar 3: Build Community Trust, Partnerships, and Institutional Readiness

  • Hate Crimes Task Force. $20.2 million over six years and $3.2 million ongoing (Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Canadian Race Relations Foundation)
  • Combatting Hate: Community Information Resource Hub. $18 million over six years and $3 million ongoing (Canadian Race Relations Foundation)
  • Support the capacity of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. $45 million over five years and $9 million ongoing (Canadian Race Relations Foundation)
  • Additional funding to prevent extreme forms of hate and hate-motivated violence including violent extremism:
    • Advance the Christchurch Call to Action;
    • Specialized, open-source data integration and behavioural analytics.
      $19.5 million over three years (see also Pillar 1) (Public Safety Canada - Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence)
  • Support to police colleges to increase training on handling hate crimes. $26.8 million over four years (Public Safety Canada)
  • Leadership and Coordination Measures: Federal-Provincial-Territorial collaboration and creation of a Ministerial Advisory Council on Combatting Hate (Canadian Heritage)
  • Developing and delivering specialized training to Crown prosecutors and to raise awareness in the judiciary about the unique dynamics of hate crime. $1.5 million over five years (Justice Canada)

Examples of projects

Examples of projects funded under the Action Plan to advance the measures listed above are available under “Funded Project Stories” on the Action Plan home page. Examples will continue to be added throughout the Action Plan’s implementation.

Pillar 1: Empower Communities to Identify and Prevent Hate

Hate incidents are increasingly a threat to the safety of individuals and communities across the country as well as to national security. Strong, resilient, inclusive and digitally-literate communities play a vital role in addressing hate incidents and crimes. It is crucial to protect communities from hate-motivated incidents and crimes against people and facilities, such as places of worship and community centres.

The following federal government measures will build capacity within communities to take necessary action against hate in all environments, including online. These new measures will help change attitudes, behaviours and social norms that contribute to hate by building strong and healthy communities with partners, stakeholders, and communities as actors of change. Simultaneously, the federal government will continue to ensure that policy recommendations are informed by evidence, including data.

Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate is complemented by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan, which includes several measures aimed at addressing prejudice, violence, systemic racism and discrimination, including hate, as well as promoting mutual respect and understanding through public education.

Prevention is key to tackling hate in our communities to keep them safe and thriving. With Budget 2024 funding of $25 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, Canadian Heritage, through its Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program, will fund projects and community-based events that prevent or address hate, support networks and resources, and foster intercultural and interfaith understanding, including supporting individuals and groups in the aftermath of hate crimes and incidents.

Amplifying authentic storytelling from Indigenous Peoples, Black, racialized, religious minority, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, women as well as persons with disabilities will enrich an appreciation and understanding of Canada’s rich diversity, promote positive perceptions of these communities and actively prevent the growth of hateful rhetoric and sentiment. Accordingly, Canadian Heritage will launch the Changing Narratives Fund to help diverse communities and organizations have their stories, experiences and perspectives better represented in the media and cultural sectors with the funding of $10 million over three years provided through Budget 2024.

With new Budget 2024 investments of $7.3 million over six years, with $1.1 million ongoing, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia will continue to serve as a champion, advisor, expert, and representative to the Canadian government and collaborate with partners to enhance efforts to combat Islamophobia and promote awareness of the diverse and intersectional identities of Muslims in Canada.

With additional Budget 2024 investments of $7.3 million over six years, with $1.1 million ongoing, Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism will continue to engage with communities; provide advice and guidance to support government efforts to combat antisemitism; advance Holocaust education, remembrance and research; and promote public awareness and understanding about Jewish communities in Canada.

In addition to supporting the construction of the Montréal Holocaust Museum with an additional funding of $5 million over two years and $2 million ongoing, Canadian Heritage will create a new, permanent National Holocaust Remembrance Program, which will support projects that preserve the memory of the Holocaust and help improve Canadians' understanding and awareness towards the Holocaust and antisemitism.

These investments are part of a larger suite of Budget 2024 investments to preserve Holocaust remembrance, confront antisemitism, and educate against Holocaust denial and distortion.

Women and Gender Equality Canada will dedicate Budget 2024 funding, $12 million over five years, for projects that build and sustain 2SLGBTQI+ community resilience against hate and discrimination. Potential eligible activities for these projects will include identifying and addressing root causes of hate, identifying who spreads hate and how they do it, and working with the public or private sector to address hate in their respective fields.

Public Safety Canada’s Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (the Canada Centre) will, through its Budget 2024 investment of $19.5 million over three years for all their initiatives (see also pillar 3), enhance its capacity to address radicalization to violence and violent extremism, both online and offline, and build the capacity of Canadian practitioners and communities to prevent and counter extreme forms of hate-motivated violence. Specifically, the Canada Centre will increase funding to the Community Resilience Fund, which provides financial support to organizations working to improve Canada's understanding and capacity to prevent and counter violent extremism.

Pillar 2: Support Victims and Survivors and Protect Communities

Across the country, there are gaps and inconsistencies in available services for victims and survivors of hate-motivated crime. Moreover, most hate crimes are not reported to police.Footnote 8 While data on self-reported victimization such as the General Social Survey on Victimization are an important complement to police-reported data, there are also shortcomings with hate crime and hate incident data.

Measures under Pillar 2 will focus on providing resources to victims, survivors and communities to confront and address hate as well as improving the access and availability of disaggregated, race-based data to mobilize knowledge, provide data-driven insights on experiences of racism and hate and, ultimately inform federal measures to best support communities.

Budget 2024 investments of $12.9 million over six years, starting in 2024-25, with $0.9 million ongoing, will support the development of new anti-hate projects, including initiatives to improve the collection and availability of hate crime data in Canada. Data are necessary to provide an evidence base that will guide policy change and decision-making. A more complete picture of the issues affecting equity-deserving communities is needed to address the prevalence of hate in a comprehensive way. Improving access and availability of disaggregated intersectional data will provide further insights into experiences of racism and hate. Furthermore, data collection must be frequent enough to match up with evolving societal needs.

A memorandum of understanding between Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada will improve access and availability of disaggregated intersectional hate crime and race-based data to mobilize knowledge and provide a more comprehensive understanding of racism and hate in Canada. Work conducted under the memorandum of understanding will include new data initiatives and surveys to collect information regarding hate, both lived experience and through police records.

Justice Canada will support the provision of assistance and supports to victims following a hate-motivated crime through the Federal Victims Strategy’s Victims Fund. The $28 million over six years provided in Budget 2024 to cost match provincial-territorial financial assistance or compensation to victims of hate-motivated crime will support the enhancement of existing programs to include victims of hate crime, or the expansion of the eligible costs that victims of hate crime can have covered, and ensure the provision of assistance and supports to victims of hate-motivated crimes across Canada.

Justice Canada will also continue to work with the provinces and territories to promote effective criminal justice system responses to hate crimes. This work will include engaging with them, as well as with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, to identify ways to increase transparency under section 318 and subsections 319(2) and (2.1) of the Criminal Code, which are the current hate propaganda offences that require consent of the appropriate attorney general, in most cases a provincial attorney general, in order to prosecute.

Canada’s rich and diverse social fabric is our country’s greatest strength, and everyone living in Canada deserves to feel safe in their communities and in their places of worship. Public Safety Canada has taken feedback from organizations and partners about the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) and has redesigned it to be more responsive to community needs, address increasing demand for support from communities, and provide more flexibility to organizations seeking financial support. With additional funding of $32 million over six years, starting in 2024-25, and $11 million ongoing from Budget 2024, Public Safety Canada will implement the Canada Community Security Program (CCSP). This iteration of the program will be easier and more efficient for organizations to access tangible security support when they need it. The CCSP will:

In recent years, the Government has made significant new investments to the program’s permanent funding which has been increased from $5 million to $16 million per year, starting in 2024-2025. Chart 5.3 in Budget 2024 shows the year over year increase. In addition, Budget 2024 provided an incremental $10 million over two years, starting in 2024-2025, to further enhance the new SIP (now called the CCSP). In 2023, Public Safety Canada launched a temporary measure, the Expanded Security Infrastructure Program, with a total additional investment of $10 million to further help Canadian communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes protect and strengthen the security of their community centres, places of worship and other institutions.

Since the SIP’s inception in 2007, the Government of Canada has invested over $25 million through the program to support over 770 projects for communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes. Funding is available to private not-for-profit organizations linked to a community at risk of being victimized by hate-motivated crime.

Examples of these investments include:

  • The Scarborough Muslim Association in Scarborough, ON received $61,227 to purchase and install reinforced security doors and locks to better protect their community members.
  • The Federation CJA in Montreal received $57,035 to hire security guards for the Jewish Community Campus of Federation CJA to prevent intruders, conduct sweeps of the area and act as a visual deterrent.
  • The Sikh Society of Calgary received over $79,000 for security upgrades to their Gurdwara, including the installation of a Closed Circuit TV system, an alarm system, exterior security and flood lighting, as well as the construction of fences and gates.
  • The Knox United Church in Winnipeg received $7,448 to install a CCTV and access control system.
  • The Académie Yéshiva Yavné in Montreal received $59,305 to hire security guards, purchase and install an improved surveillance and public address system, and to purchase 50 door barricades to be installed in each room of the school.

Funding for pride event security helps empower communities to continue coming together to celebrate and advocate – while at the same time, preventing and reducing further victimization at these events. Thanks to a Budget 2024 investment of $3 million over two years, Women and Gender Equality Canada will extend existing funding to support security needs for Pride festivals.

In June 2024, the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, announced up to $1.5 million for Fierté Canada Pride to administer funding to support security needs for Pride festivals for the 2024 Pride season. This funding helped offset rising security and insurance costs for events across the country, amid rising levels of hate against 2SLGBTQI+ individuals. These costs could include additional security resources and training to increase the capacity of volunteers and community members.

Pillar 3: Building Community Trust, Partnerships and Institutional Readiness

Trusting and collaborative relationships between law enforcement agencies, the justice system, and communities affected by hate are crucial. Several communities targeted by hate have highlighted challenges in trusting law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and national security agencies.

Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate will be complemented by the Indigenous Justice Strategy, which is being co-developed with Indigenous partners and in close collaboration with the provinces and territories, to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system. It is also complemented by the Black Justice Strategy being developed in consultation with Black communities across Canada, including an external Steering Group of Black experts and leaders to address anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination that has led to the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime (Annex B).

Communities have pointed to the need to dismantle systemic barriers that undermine public confidence and create inequities in the administration of justice. They have shared concerns that law enforcement is not effectively investigating incidents of hate and hate groups. Building trust is essential to improving capacity to safeguard all communities targeted by hate. In turn, this will result in improved capacity among law enforcement, security, and intelligence services to monitor, prevent, investigate and address hate incidents and crimes. Equally, better coordination, capacity-building and governance across the federal government combined with ongoing partnerships with key actors in the domestic and global anti-hate ecosystem are essential to curbing the incidence of hate in Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), with Budget 2024 funding of $20.2 million over six years, starting in 2024-25, and $3.2 million ongoing, will:

In March 2023, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the RCMP Chiefs of Police Roundtable created a National Hate Crime Task Force whose purpose and goal is to better understand the systemic challenges in addressing hate crimes in Canada. Its focus is to identify the challenges in Canada’s hate crime ecosystem and to work collectively to create tools and resources as solutions.

In May 2024, the CRRF-led Building Bridges Workshop was launched, which is one of the largest investments in hate crimes literacy and police training on hate crimes in the country. The two-day workshop is designed to raise awareness and increase capacity to address hate crimes and incidents for both community and police. The training consists of 24 sessions in 12 cities across Canada.

Building on the work of the national Hate Crimes Task Force, Budget 2024 provided $18 million over six years, starting in 2024-25, and $3 million ongoing to the CRRF to create the Combatting Hate: Community Information Resource Hub to:

Additional Budget 2024 investments of $45 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, and $9 million ongoing, will also enable the CRRF to increase its capacity. The CRRF focuses on raising public awareness of the causes and manifestations of racism in Canada, and works with all orders of government, the private sector, civil society and impacted communities.

New Budget 2024 investments to enhance Public Safety’s Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre) will also support the implementation of the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence by enhancing support for frontline prevention efforts as well as efforts to address terrorist and violent extremist content online – both of which were recommendations from the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security’s 2022 report on ideologically-motivated violent extremism (for associated funding, see pillar 1). The Canada Centre will also:

Providing our law enforcement with the right tools to counter hate is key to keeping Canadians safe. Public Safety Canada, with Budget 2024 funding of $26.8 million over four years, will support increased training on handling hate crimes in police colleges for provincial and municipal police forces.

Canadian Heritage will enhance leadership and coordination measures across the government through:

Finally, Justice Canada will also develop and deliver specialized training to Crown prosecutors and raise awareness in the judiciary about the unique dynamics of hate crimes with investments in Budget 2024 of $1.5 million over five years.

Monitoring and Reporting

Canadian Heritage will monitor and report on the implementation of the Action Plan across the government. Participating federal institutions will be responsible for developing their own performance measurement frameworks. Performance data will be disaggregated wherever possible to obtain insight on the experiences of specific community groups, including Indigenous Peoples, Black, racialized, religious minority, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, women as well as persons with disabilities.

A Ministerial Advisory Council on Combatting Hate will provide an ongoing mechanism for the government to hear directly from experts and community leaders on the implementation of this Action Plan, including barriers and opportunities for action.

Conclusion

Hate no matter its form, has no place in Canada. Everyone has a right to be safe and treated with dignity while feeling valued for their unique contributions to Canadian society. When someone becomes a victim of hate, it affects all of us. We must confront hate collectively to foster a stronger sense of belonging among communities and allow everyone to enjoy the full benefits and opportunities Canada has to offer.

As Canada’s first government-wide approach to confronting hate, this Action Plan highlights the federal government’s diverse commitments and work to empower individuals and communities against hate, bringing them together to build a safer and more inclusive Canada where everyone can thrive.

Hate stands as a barrier to Canadian multiculturalism, and commitments to diversity, anti-racism, equity, and inclusion. Canada’s vision of a strong and diverse society demands we confront hate together. The responsibility of confronting hate falls on all of us and requires respect and cooperation across society.

This Action Plan is laying the foundation for collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, and civil society organizations representing equity-deserving communities. Let us work together to ensure that sustainable, equitable, and meaningful progress is made towards a Canada where everyone can live without hate.

Annex A: Canada’s Legal Framework and Hate

Countering hate is consistent with the Government’s obligations under domestic law to respect, promote and realize the human rights of everyone, irrespective of one’s race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability and conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered. (See Canadian Human Rights Act, 1985).

Countering hate is also consistent with the Government’s vision of a multicultural society, and its responsibilities under the Canadian Bill of Rights (1960), the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), and the Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988).

In order to protect the public from extreme forms of hate speech, the Criminal Code also contains four hate propaganda offences:

A specific hate crime offence addressing hate-motivated mischief committed against certain kinds of property is also found in subsections 430(4.1) and (4.101) of the Criminal Code. It applies to property primarily used for religious worship or for other kinds of property (such as schools, universities, or community centres) that are primarily used by an identifiable group, where the mischief is committed out of bias, prejudice, or hatred against an identifiable group.

More generally, however, when there is evidence that the offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression, or any similar factor, the sentencing principles set out in subparagraph 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code requires that the sentencing judge take that evidence into consideration as a relevant aggravating factor in determining the appropriate sentence.

The Action Plan also supports the global ecosystem of human rights treaties and policies of which Canada is a signatory, including the United Nations Decade for People of African Descent, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights.

Annex B: Federal Ecosystem on Preventing and Addressing Hate

This Annex provides a broader view of measures across the federal government that contribute to preventing and addressing hate and related forms of violence and discrimination, even where they are not directly funded under Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate.

Measures are listed by federal department/agency, and these appear in alphabetical order.

Canadian Heritage

Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism (collaboration with Global Affairs Canada)

The mandate of the Special Envoy is both international and domestic and is supported by Global Affairs Canada and Canadian Heritage, with the Special Envoy reporting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for international responsibilities and the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities for domestic responsibilities. The Special Envoy provides guidance and advice to advance the federal government’s efforts to prevent and address antisemitism and hate; works with Canadian institutions and stakeholders; promotes public awareness and understanding of Jewish communities in their diverse and intersectional identities in Canada; promotes Holocaust education, remembrance, and research; and encourages the adoption and implementation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism. The Special Envoy is Head of Delegation to the IHRA, a role through which the Special Envoy reinforces Canada’s leadership in preventing and addressing antisemitism and hate abroad.

Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia

The Special Representative reports to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities. The mandate of the Special Representative is national in scope and supported by Canadian Heritage. The Special Representative serves as Canada’s champion, advisor and expert on preventing and addressing Islamophobia. Her role is to:

The Special Representative’s office also contributes to training and awareness activities for the federal public service, in collaboration with the Canada School of Public Service and other federal departments.

Changing Systems, Transforming Lives: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028

Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028 is a $110.4 million investment aimed at driving action in employment, justice and law enforcement, housing, healthcare and immigration systems. It includes over 70 federal initiatives designed to ensure federal policies, programs and services reflect the Canada it serves, while also working in partnership with communities by investing over $70 million in local initiatives across the country.

Digital Citizen Initiative

The Digital Citizen Initiative supports citizen-focused activities including literacy programming and tools, research and civil society/academic capacity building through grants and contributions funding. It is a multi-component strategy aiming to support democracy and social inclusion in Canada through building resilience to counter online disinformation and building partnerships to support a health information ecosystem. Digital Citizen Contribution Program (DCCP) has provided over $21 million to third-party organizations undertaking research and carrying out learning activities, such as public awareness tools and online workshops. These projects reach Canadians on a national and local scale, online and offline, in minority communities, in both official languages and in Indigenous communities.

Canadian Race Relations Foundation

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) is a federal Crown Corporation with a legislative mandate to contribute to the elimination of racism in Canadian society. It focuses on raising public awareness of the causes and manifestations of racism in Canada, and works with all orders of government, the private sector, and civil society. The CRRF's focus is on community groups, non-profit and grassroots organizations and first-time applicants that would not typically get funded through other programs. In 2022, the CRRF and Chiefs of Police National Roundtable announced the creation of a Task Force on Hate Crimes, co-chaired by the CRRF and the RCMP.

Hate Crimes Task Force (collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police)

The National Hate Crimes Task Force (Task Force) was launched in the spring of 2022 under the Chiefs of Police National Roundtable, which is a forum of peers established by the RCMP Commissioner to promote collaboration across the domestic policing community on key issues of importance to the Canadian population and the policing community. The Task Force was formally created in recognition of the prevalence of hate crimes in Canada and with the objective of increasing awareness of the scope, nature and impact of hate crimes among the public and police, notably by creating national standards to better support impacted communities – solutions that are designed to help prevent, investigate and support prosecutions related to hate crimes and hate incidents. Co-chaired by the RCMP and the CRRF, the Task Force includes 20 members from 14 police services across Canada, plus representatives from the Government of Canada and the Ministry of Attorney General in the Government of Ontario. It strives to have a diverse membership with a range of expertise and knowledge to inform the important work being undertaken, including working in frontline policing, outreach and engagement, hate crimes units, victims’ services, legal services and training and education.

In its first year, the Task Force established a diverse network of hate crime units who exchange best practices, support investigations, and transfer knowledge around complex issues. It also established national standards for hate crimes training, reporting, and community reassurance protocols. These accomplishments were made possible by working with the CRRF in a unique partnership with police service organizations across the country.

Canada School of Public Service

The Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) offers learning aligned with the government’s priorities and as such, is committed to developing learning to support a diverse, equitable and inclusive public service, to preventing and addressing systemic racism in federal institutions, and to encouraging public servants to change behaviours and take action. The CSPS plays a vital role in this change through the development and delivery of curricula to educate public servants about Canada’s cultural and institutional history, the impacts of this history, and the public service's responsibilities.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People

The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People (Federal Pathway) outlines the Government of Canada's commitments to end violence against Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and additional sexually and gender diverse people. It is a key component of the much broader effort to end the systemic racism, sexism, ableism, and economic inequality that has perpetuated violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. The Federal Pathway, which represents a whole-of-government approach, will guide current and future efforts by the Government of Canada, working closely with Indigenous partners, to put in place concrete measures to address the systemic, interconnected root causes of this violence. This includes actions to support languages and cultures, community safety and prevention, health and wellness, human safety and security, as well as access to justice.

National Council for Reconciliation

The work of the newly created National Council for Reconciliation (NCR) is also expected to contribute to combating hate experienced by Indigenous peoples. As part of its mandate, the NCR is to develop public education programs and stimulate and promote dialogue and partnerships aimed at reconciliation.

Employment and Social Development Canada

Disability Inclusion Action Plan

Canada's Disability Inclusion Action Plan is a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach to disability inclusion. Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan is guided by the principles laid out in the Accessible Canada Act:

Persons with disabilities need to be involved in the development and implementation of all government systems, policies, programs and services.

Human rights principles need to guide the development and implementation of our systems, programs and processes, including the principles of equality, anti-discrimination, participation, and inclusion.

Government systems, policies, programs and services must consider:

The Action Plan builds on existing programs and measures that have sought to improve the inclusion of persons with disabilities and establishes new and meaningful actions through five key objectives: 1) improve the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities; 2) reduce poverty among persons with disabilities; 3) achieve the Accessible Canada Act goal of a barrier-free Canada by 2040; 4) develop a consistent approach to disability inclusion across the Government of Canada and make it easier for persons with disabilities to access federal programs and services, and 5) foster a culture of disability inclusion.

Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat

The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat (the Federal Secretariat) coordinates federal action by working with federal institutions to advance longer-term whole-of-government actions to address racism and discrimination as well as prevent and address hate. As a centre of expertise, the Federal Secretariat works on supporting federal partners to implement their anti-racism commitments, identify systemic barriers and gaps, develop new initiatives, and consider the impacts of new and existing policies, services and programs on racialized, Indigenous and religious minority communities. To do so, the Federal Secretariat engages with diverse communities and Indigenous Peoples to better understand their needs and the impacts of federal policies and, coordinates and leads whole-of-government work to design and deliver policies that tackle systemic racism across a variety of areas.

United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent

In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared January 2015 to December 2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent (the Decade). The Decade is a global call to action to address issues impacting people of African descent in the areas of recognition, justice, and development. It recognizes that people of African descent represent a distinct group whose human rights must be promoted and protected. On January 30, 2018, the Government of Canada endorsed the UN Decade in Canada and subsequently announced several commitments to address the needs of Black communities across Canada under the pillars of recognition, justice and development. In February 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government’s efforts under this framework would be extended until 2028.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Local Immigration Partnerships

Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs) play a leadership role in building community resilience by:

The National LIP Secretariat (NLS) Anti-racism Project has been provided ongoing funding support to:

Justice Canada

Canada’s Black Justice Strategy

Canada’s Black Justice Strategy is being developed by the federal government to address anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination that has led to the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime. The Strategy will aim to help ensure that all people in Canada have access to equal treatment before and under the law in Canada, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Strategy is being developed in consultation with Black communities across Canada, including an external Steering Group of Black experts and leaders to ensure that it reflects the diversity of experiences, backgrounds, and regional realities of Black people in Canada, as well as different intersectionalities such as disability, ethnic or cultural origin, language, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and age.

Federal Victims Strategy

Since 2007, the Federal Victims Strategy (FVS), a horizontal Government of Canada initiative, has been working to increase access to justice for victims and survivors of crime and to give victims of crime a more effective voice in the criminal justice system. The FVS utilizes a multi-pronged approach through three interrelated strategic activities: criminal law reform, program development and delivery, and policy development and federal leadership. As an important part of the FVS, the Government of Canada, through the Justice Canada Victims Fund, provides grants and contributions funding to non-governmental organizations and the provinces and territories to support the development and implementation of victim-related services across the country.

Indigenous Justice Strategy

The Indigenous Justice Strategy (IJS) is being co-developed with Indigenous partners and in close collaboration with the provinces and territories, to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the justice system. Given their key role and jurisdiction in relation to the administration of justice in Canada, this work is also being advanced in close collaboration with the provinces and territories. This whole-of-government initiative, led by the Justice Canada, seeks to identify the legislative, program and policy measures needed to support the revitalization of Indigenous laws, justice systems and legal traditions, while also creating needed change within the existing criminal justice system. In the spirit of reconciliation and out of respect for Indigenous rights to self-determination, the strategy is being developed through sustained engagement with a diverse representation of Indigenous partners, including Indigenous women, youth, Elders, 2SLGBTQI+ persons and those living in urban centres. This will ensure the development of a culturally appropriate strategy that is informed by the lived experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis across the country.

Online Safety (collaboration with Canadian Heritage)

The Government introduced Bill C-63, An Act to enact the Online Harms Act, which would create stronger protections for children online, and better safeguards everyone in Canada from online hate and other types of harmful content. The Bill would hold social media services, including live-streaming and certain adult-content services accountable and require them to actively reduce exposure to harmful content on their services, including by putting in place special protections for children. Users will have the tools and resources needed to report harmful content and require online services to take action.

Under the Bill, the new Online Harms Act defines seven categories of harmful content including:

Regulated services will have to meet obligations under a duty to act responsibly, duty to protect children, and duty to make certain content inaccessible (content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor and intimate content communicated without consent).

The Bill also proposes amendments to the Criminal Code, the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA), and the Act respecting the mandatory reporting of internet child pornography by persons who provide an internet service. The changes to the Criminal Code and CHRA would help to better prevent and address hate speech and hate crimes, provide improved remedies for victims and hold individuals accountable for the hate they spread. Changes to the Mandatory Reporting Act would support investigations into serious crime related to child pornography.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a comprehensive international human rights instrument on the rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world. It affirms and sets out a broad range of collective and individual rights that constitute the minimum standards to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to contribute to their survival, dignity and well-being, including rights related to equality and non-discrimination.

The declaration provides a roadmap for the Government of Canada and Indigenous Peoples to work together on implementing it based on lasting reconciliation, healing, and cooperative relations. Consistent with the Act, Justice Canada published the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan on June 21, 2023. The Plan includes measures to address injustices, counter prejudice and eliminate all forms of violence, racism and discrimination, including systemic racism and discrimination, against Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous elders, youth, children, women, men, persons with disabilities and gender-diverse persons and two-spirit persons.

Global Affairs Canada

International engagement to promote human rights, inclusion and respect for diversity

Canada engages on a wide range of human rights issues around the world, where hate is a factor in social, political, or economic exclusion that represents barriers to the full enjoyment of human rights. These engagements happen bilaterally with foreign states and civil society experts, as well as at a global level in support of the international human rights framework. In addition to these diplomatic engagements, Canada provides a range of international assistance funding to advance human rights and peace and security that address exclusion that poses human rights and development risks.

Public Safety Canada

Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence

The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (Canada Centre) leads the National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence. The Canada Centre's activities are complementary with – but distinct from – national security and criminal justice efforts, as well as broader initiatives to address harms like hate and gender-based violence. The Canada Centre also provides financial support to organizations working to improve Canada's understanding and capacity to prevent and counter violent extremism through its Community Resilience Fund. This specialized field of prevention expertise is derived from science-based approaches in fields like community safety, crime prevention, social work, conflict resolution, and public health. This unique approach focuses on preventing the onset of harmful behaviour, diverting people away from pathways towards violent extremism, and assisting rehabilitation and reintegration.

Since 2019, the Canada Centre has led the Government of Canada’s response to the Christchurch Call to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, which is a global pledge by governments, digital industry, and civil society organizations to coordinate and collaborate in efforts to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

The Canada Centre supports prevention efforts, research and interventions through the Community Resilience Fund, a grants and contributions program designed to provide financial support to research and community-based initiatives across Canada that aim to prevent and counter radicalization to violence, including extreme forms of hate-motivated violence in Canada.

Communities at Risk: The Security Infrastructure Program

The Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) started in 2007 as a pilot project to help communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes by providing time-limited contribution funding to private not for profit organizations to enhance the security of physical sites that serve these communities, including community centres; provincially/territorially recognized private educational institutions; places of worship; shelters serving victims of gender-based violence; and community-based facilities such as daycares and office spaces. Security upgrades may include the installation of additional lighting, access control, alarm systems, window film, fences, surveillance cameras, basic training to respond to hate-motivated incidents, security vulnerability assessment, and other security planning tools and plans, as well as security personnel. The Program has provided more than $24.5 million to 770 projects across the country since its inception in 2007 and will continue as the newly launched Canada Community Security Program (CCSP).

National Crime Prevention Strategy

The National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) is the federal government’s main policy framework for the implementation of evidence-based crime prevention policies and interventions in Canada. The NCPS is based on the premise that well-designed interventions can have a positive influence on behaviours, and that crimes can be reduced or prevented by addressing risk factors that can lead to offending. Successful interventions have also been shown to reduce victimization, as well as the social and economic costs that result from criminal activities, including costs related to the criminal justice system. Through the NCPS, the government invests over $51 million annually in community-based crime prevention efforts under four funding programs:

Statistics Canada

Disaggregated Data Action Plan

The Disaggregated Data Action Plan is a whole-of-government approach led by Statistics Canada to reveal challenges faced by the most vulnerable populations in the country and help create a more equitable Canada. Statistics Canada works to collect, analyze, and disseminate more data that is representative of diverse populations in order to address gender gaps, racism and other systemic barriers and help create a more equitable future for all individuals in Canada.

Recently, the statistical agency released its Disaggregated Data Action Plan Accomplishments Report 2022-2023: Building on a solid foundation, which highlights the progress made in the second year of the plan's implementation to support more representative data collection and enhanced statistics on diverse populations.

Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub

This statistics hub is Statistics Canada's primary platform for all gender, diversity and inclusion related data. The Hub enables data users to find disaggregated and intersectional data, analytical products and insights more easily.

Police-Reported Indigenous and Racialized Identity Data Collection Initiative

In response to increasing demands for better disaggregated data to shed light on people's diverse experiences, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) are collaborating on the Police-Reported Indigenous and Racialized Identity Data Collection Initiative to collect data on the Indigenous and racialized identity of all victims and accused persons involved in criminal incidents, through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey.

Social Inclusion Framework for Canada's Ethnocultural Groups

Social Inclusion Framework for Canada's Ethnocultural Groups is a one-stop data portal that introduces a framework to organize and access data on social inclusion for ethnocultural groups and immigrants in Canada and responds to an increased demand for statistical indicators to support evidence-based decision-making aimed at building a more equitable and inclusive society. The social inclusion indicators published on the portal cover 11 themes relevant to the analysis of social inclusion and are drawn from a variety of data sources.

Women and Gender Equality Canada

Federal Gender-Based Violence Strategy and National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence

It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence is a whole-of-government approach to ending Gender-Based Violence (GBV) launched in 2017. It builds on current federal initiatives, coordinates existing programs and lays the foundation for greater action on GBV. The Strategy’s initiatives are organized across three pillars: 1) preventing gender-based violence; 2) supporting survivors and their families; and 3) promoting responsive legal and justice systems. The Strategy fills gaps in supports for diverse populations including women and girls; Indigenous women and girls; 2SLGBTQI+ individuals; women living in northern, rural, and remote communities; women and girls with disabilities; immigrant and refugee women; children and youth; and senior women.

A 10-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which builds on existing federal, provincial, and territorial approaches and strategies to prevent and address GBV was launched in November 2022. It is a strategic federal-provincial/territorial framework for action within and across jurisdictions with the goal of supporting victims, survivors, and their families, no matter where they live. It was launched to engage all people in Canada in changing the social norms, attitudes, and behaviours that contribute to GBV; address the social and economic factors that contribute to GBV; set out a framework for anyone facing GBV to have reliable and timely access to culturally appropriate and accessible protection and services; and improve the health, social, economic, and justice outcomes of those impacted by GBV. The National Action Plan consists of five pillars: 1) support for victims, survivors, and their families; 2) prevention pillar; 3) responsive justice system; 4) implementing Indigenous-led approaches; and 5) social infrastructure and enabling environment. Women and Gender Equality Canada worked with all provincial and territorial governments to sign bilateral agreements that support each province’s and territory’s work to end gender-based violence.

Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan

The Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan aims to advance rights and equality for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) people in Canada. The Action Plan takes a holistic approach to addressing the substantial and persisting inequities, which are rooted in longstanding stigma and discrimination. It builds upon existing work to address persisting disparities faced by 2SLGBTQI+ communities and build a safer, more inclusive country. The implementation of the 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan is based on extensive engagements with 2SLGBQTI+ community members, organizations, advocates, and experts. It includes new initiatives, in six priority areas: 1) prioritizing and sustaining 2SLGBTQI+ community action; 2) continuing to advance and strengthen 2SLGBTQI+ rights at home and abroad; 3) supporting Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ resilience and resurgence; 4) engaging everyone in Canada in fostering a 2SLGBTQI+ inclusive future; 5) strengthening 2SLGBTQI+ data and evidence-based policy making; and 6) embedding 2SLGBTQI+ issues in the work of the Government.

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer is dedicated to examining the barriers and challenges to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace. This work is critical to making sure federal policies, programs and services are sensitive to the needs of all people of Canada.

Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada

The Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada was launched in 2019 as a roadmap for the public service to lead by example in accessibility and disability inclusion in Canada and abroad. It was co-developed with persons with disabilities and designed to help prepare the Government of Canada to meet or exceed the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.

The Strategy’s vision is to make Canada’s public service the most accessible and inclusive in the world. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat under the strategy is setting the conditions for the public service of Canada to identify, prevent, and remove barriers to participation for persons with disabilities. The Strategy is a roadmap to prepare the public service to lead by example and become a model of accessibility for others, in Canada and abroad.

Action Plan for Black Public Servants

The Action Plan for Black Public Servants seeks to address significant and unique challenges faced by Black public servants, including anti-Black racism and its impacts on mental health; through investments in mental health, well-being and career development of Black public servants.

Privy Council Office

Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Secretariat

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Secretariat works to ensure that considerations of anti-racism, equity and inclusion are applied in the development of federal government policies. Additionally, the Public Service Renewal Secretariat is responsible for monitoring progress on the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service (CTA),launched in 2021. The CTA directs federal organizations to prevent and address racism and to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive public service by addressing long-standing discrimination and racism experienced by many Indigenous Peoples, Black and other racialized groups.

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