‍

Toronto (May 19, 2023) – Despite the City of Toronto seeing a slight decrease in hate crimes in 2022, there was once again an increase in police-reported incidents targeting the Jewish community, which remains the group most victimized by hate crimes in the city.

According to the Toronto Police Service’s 2022 Hate Crime Statistical Report, the Jewish, Black and LGBTQ2S+ communities were the most targeted groups for hate crimes last year, respectively, with each group experiencing a rise in incidents.

The Jewish community reported 63 hate crimes in 2022, a 12.5 per cent increase from 56 incidents in 2021, with the majority of hate crimes consisting of mischief under $5,000.  

Despite representing just 3.4 per cent of Toronto’s population, Jewish people were victimized in approximately 26 per cent of hate crimes and have remained the most targeted group over the past three years.

“The trajectory of hate crimes targeting Jewish people as well as the Black and LGBTQ+ communities in Toronto is very concerning, as we continue to see conspiracy theories, misinformation and hate speech online feed into incidents occurring in our own backyards,” said FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt. “In addition to educating youth about the importance of supporting diversity and inclusion as well as the dangers of hate, we need our leaders in law enforcement and government to continue enforcing appropriate measures that will ensure the safety of vulnerable communities and hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable.”

Overall, a total of 242 hate crimes were reported in 2022, down from 257 in 2021 but still higher than the 10-year average of 173 occurrences.