The Toronto Police Service (TPS) just-released data reveals that the city experienced a historic high in reported hate crime incidents in 2024, with the Jewish community, once again, being the leading target.
According to the TPS’s 2024 Annual Hate Crime Statistical Report, published ahead of its board meeting next week, 443 hate-motivated occurrences were reported to police last year – a 19 percent increase from 2023 and a 203 percent rise from 2014.
Although the Jewish community represents less than four per cent of Toronto’s population, anti-Jewish hate crimes accounted for 40 per cent of all reported incidents, with 177 occurrences, the majority of which involved acts of mischief.
The data also shows that 47 per cent of all hate crime incidents took place on public streets and transit, followed by educational institutions and businesses or retail spaces. The Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit laid charges of public incitement of hatred in seven incidents, six of which were connected to demonstrations.
“These alarming numbers confirm what the Jewish community has been feeling on the ground – a deep and rising threat to their safety and a growing sense of fear and unease,” said Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) President and CEO Michael Levitt. “That the majority of hate crimes occur out in the open tells us that people feel emboldened and unafraid to commit such acts. We are facing a crisis that should concern everyone and demands immediate and sustained action from all levels of government, law enforcement and civil society.”
FSWC welcomed the Toronto Police Service’s efforts to expand its Hate Crime Unit and increase resources assigned to it. This includes the development of a mandatory e-learning training module, in collaboration with FSWC, that educates service members on Judaism and antisemitism, the impact of antisemitism on the Jewish community and the importance of allyship.
FSWC stated that it "advocates for further education on antisemitism to be prioritized across sectors where such hate is surging, particularly with the Toronto Transit Commission and its special constables, as well as in schools and universities, where Jewish students are increasingly targeted. In 2024, FSWC expanded its reach in antisemitism education and training programs for professionals, reaching thousands of law enforcement personnel and other professionals across Canada."