Canada to invest $10 million to boost Jewish safety after synagogue attacks

Canada’s Ministry of Public Safety announced on Wednesday that the government intends to invest up to $10 million to enhance security for Jewish-Canadian communities, schools, institutions and synagogues. The move comes after rising levels of antisemitism and three recent synagogue shootings in Toronto.

“Our government is unwavering in its commitment to keep Canadians safe and to combating all forms of hate,” said Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree. “No one in Canada should ever feel unsafe because of who they are, how they pray, or the community they belong to. Jewish communities have been increasingly targeted for hate crimes and impacted by rising hate-related incidents.”

Canadian Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin stated that “as a mother and a member of the Jewish community, I know how important it is to feel that sense of safety.”

AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon echoed similar sentiments, stressing that Jewish Canadians should never feel unsafe in their own country.

“At this critical moment, when the community is feeling so vulnerable, we are taking direct action,” Solomon said. He welcomed the $10 million pledged investment as an “important first step” while calling for bipartisan support for passing a new anti-hate legislation that would protect religious and ethnic minorities like Jews.

Like in other Western countries, anti-Jewish incidents in Canada have increased dramatically since the Hamas October 7 attack in 2023. Jewish Canadian groups have consequently called on their government to protect the Jewish communities and combat antisemitism.

Noah Shack, who heads the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), welcomed the Canadian government’s decision to invest millions in boosting security for Jews in the country.

“Every day, Canadians are waking up to news of another shooting attack. Multiple shootings at Toronto-area synagogues were not isolated incidents, but the latest in an escalating surge of hate, harassment, and violence targeting Jewish Canadians,” Shack said.

“The level of security now required to protect Jewish Canadians in Canada is shocking,” he added.

Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center Canada welcomed the government’s investment in security as an “important step” but emphasized the need for concrete measures to combat hatred against Jewish Canadians, as did the non-profit organization B’nai Brith Canada.

On Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his concern over the rising levels of antisemitism in Canada.

“I am deeply alarmed by the shocking rise of antisemitism in Canada ever since the October 7 massacre,” Herzog said. “All eyes are on Canada to halt this unprecedented wave of Jew-hatred.”

Herzog called on the Canadian government to learn the lessons of previous global antisemitic attacks, including the Bondi Beach massacre in Sydney, Australia.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel specifically warned on Monday that Canada faced its own Bondi Beach-style massacre of Jews unless it stepped up the fight against antisemitism.

"The writing was on the wall with the Bondi Massacre, and I see the exact same pattern in Canada," Haskel assessed during an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

"I don't want the Jewish community to pay the price of blood because of the lack of action by the Canadian government. I will do everything in my capability to make sure I'm waking up the Canadian government before it's too late. Because once blood is spilled, that is one person too many," she added.