Speaking with reporters at a news conference in Waterloo, Ont., Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the reported spike in hate crimes in Canada can be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and greater political polarization.
Mr. Trudeau was asked about the federal government’s plans to increase funding toward anti-racism infrastructure in Canada in light of recent attacks at Ontario mosques.
This past weekend, five men were attacked in a drive-by shooting outside a mosque in Scarborough, Ont. Last month, a man wielding an axe and bear spray attacked worshippers at Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre in Mississauga, Ont. No one was harmed.
The April 2022 budget announced $85-million in funding over five years related to a new anti-racism strategy and combatting hate. It also announced $11-million over five years for a special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, as well as a special representative on combatting Islamophobia. “Over the past years, we’ve seen a rise in hate crimes, a rise in intolerance and racist acts. Part of it is the pandemic, sure, and the stress and the anxiety that comes from that, but a part of it is a trend toward greater polarization in our politics, greater intolerance in our communities,” Mr. Trudeau said.
The Globe and Mail’s Joy SpearChief-Morris and deputy Ottawa bureau Chief Bill Curry have more details here.
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Source. theglobeandmail.com/
Thursday, May 7, 2026
