Toronto (August 20, 2018) – In a random survey of 1,000 Canadians commissioned by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and conducted by Nanos Research, nearly eight in ten Canadians (78%) believe that we need to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. 

On average, the survey found what has long been suspected by FSWC – that approximately 15% (5 million) Canadians express views that could be construed as antisemitic. The survey found that even though the Jewish community of Canada makes up less than 1% of the population, around 13% to 18% of Canadians believe Jewish people in Canada have "too much influence" in various areas such as the business world, the Canadian government and the global media.   

Quebec displayed the highest percentage of intolerance on average (ranging from 19-27% who said “too much influence” across the various areas) followed by Ontario and British Columbia, while Atlantic Canada generally displayed the least antisemitism (8.6-12% across the various areas) on average. Men surveyed appeared more likely to have antisemitic tendencies than women (17.5% vs. 9% using the lowest figures for each group across the various areas).

"As we expected, the good news is that nearly half of all Canadians (approximately 47%) do not express antisemitic attitudes while a majority (78%) want to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. Still, if it’s true that around 15% of Canadians hold antisemitic views while around 35% are unsure, this is cause for alarm. It means we have to double down on our effort to educate and advocate against antisemitism, hate and intolerance," said FSWC President and CEO, Avi Benlolo.

Despite the fact antisemitism and hate crime in general are underreported, FSWC tracks and monitors antisemitism and hate crime across the country on its interactive website at www.fswc.ca.

CLICK HERE to read full survey results.

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Media Contact:

Tracey Steyn
ExecutiveAssistant to the President & CEO
416.864.9735 x21
tsteyn@fswc.ca 

AvitalBorisovsky
CommunicationsAssociate 
416.864.9735 x29
aborisovsky@fswc.ca