The federal government of Canada announced on Wednesday that it will allocate $10 million to help Jewish communities strengthen security at their institutions after three Toronto-area synagogues were struck by gunfire in recent days, the Canadian Press reported.
The funding will be distributed through the federal Canada Community Security Program and is intended to help protect Jewish places of worship, schools, child care centres, overnight camps, and other institutions.
The program provides funding to organizations at risk of hate-motivated crimes for security equipment and infrastructure, including protective barriers and reinforcements for windows and doors.
Funding can also be used to develop security assessments and emergency response plans, train staff to respond to hate-motivated incidents, and hire licensed security personnel.
Applications to the program are accepted throughout the year.
“Canada’s Jewish community is anxious, fearful - and those feelings are quite justified," Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said at a news conference on Wednesday, according to the Canadian Press.
Commenting on the recent firings towards synagogues, he said, “These were assaults on the Jewish community and the right of Jewish Canadians to live and pray in safety. When you attack a synagogue, you attack all places of worship. When you attack a single group of Canadians, and in this case, Jewish Canadians, you attack all Canadians. You attack the very fabric of our society."
Anandasangaree said the federal government will use “every tool available" to confront antisemitic violence and hatred and to protect places of worship.
He added that federal agencies, including the RCMP, are assisting Toronto and York Regional police as they investigate the incidents and work to identify those responsible.
“Make no mistake, they will be held to account."
Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto, located in the city of Vaughan and one of the largest Orthodox synagogues in North America, was struck by gunfire early Saturday morning. York Regional Police said no one was injured in the incident, though the building sustained damage.
In a separate incident that day, Toronto police said shots were also fired at the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in the city. As in the earlier attack, no injuries were reported, but the synagogue building was damaged.
Several days earlier, gunfire struck Temple Emanu-El in the Toronto district of North York, as members of the congregation were marking the Jewish holiday of Purim. Police who arrived at the scene located evidence of gunfire and damage to the synagogue’s front area.
Toronto and the area have seen a surge in incidents of antisemitism since October 7, 2023.
Data released by the Toronto Police Service in May found that the city experienced a historic high in reported hate crime incidents in 2024, with the Jewish community, once again, being the leading target.
A week later, approximately 100 mezuzahs were removed from the doors of Jewish seniors at a North York residence in what police called a “hate-motivated theft."
In late December, another incident of mezuzahs being torn from the doors of Jewish residents was recorded in North York.