The Government of Canada is committed to combatting intolerance and extremism by working with community partners who are studying online hate speech and its connection to radicalization to violence.

“Online extremist and hateful content can lead young Canadians down a dangerous road towards radicalization to violence. That is why it is crucial we collaborate with sectors and communities, including youth, to effectively combat this phenomenon. MediaSmarts’ project will help us ensure young Canadians have the resilience to deal with negative content found on the Internet in order to prevent the promotion of racism and violence.” 

   - Chandra Arya, Member of Parliament for Nepean

“Canadian youth say it is important to speak up against hate content online, but often feel reluctant to do so. This funding will enable MediaSmarts to identify the reason for this reluctance, as well as ways to encourage and empower youth to speak out against hate. This research will result in much needed tools and resources for countering online radicalization among youth. ”

 -  Kathryn Ann Hill, Executive Director, MediaSmarts

• The MediaSmarts study will be conducted in the form of a national survey of up to 1000 youth in grades 9 and 10.

• The results of the survey will be made public as part of the project’s final report, which will be published on MediaSmarts’ website.

• MediaSmarts is a member of Facebook's and Twitter's international safety councils, which provide advice on new tools.

• The Canada Centre provides funding to organizations that work to counter radicalization to violence in Canada through the Community Resilience Fund. Projects under the Community Resilience Fund will improve Canada’s ability to address violent radicalization at the local level by supporting intervention research and programming, information sharing, and outreach activities.

• The Community Resilience Fund had $2.4 million in funds for existing and new projects in 2017-2018 and $4.4 million in 2018-19. For 2019-20 and beyond, this fund will have $7 million available each year for existing and new projects.

Associated links

• Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence
• Community Resilience Fund •
• MediaSmarts

Scott Bardsley
Senior Advisor for Communications
Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
613-998-5681
scott.bardsley@canada.ca

Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
613-991-0657
ps.mediarelations-relationsaveclesmedias.sp@canada.ca