Gary Mar: Governments need a co-ordinated response to hate and violent extremism

Canada is confronting a level of organized hate, extremism and violent attacks that is testing the strength of our institutions and our ability to uphold the rule of law.

Twice this year, the U.S. Consulate in Toronto has come under gunfire. In between those attacks, synagogues, Jewish schools, neighbourhoods and even cemeteries were targeted. A recent federal government report found that 95.7 per cent of Jewish students on Canadian campuses experienced or witnessed antisemitism over the past year.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw has described a guns-for-hire economy, in which young people are recruited through encrypted apps, paid as little as $600 to $1,000 to carry out attacks and asked to film the acts as proof of completion. These are organized networks exploiting weaknesses that cut across federal, provincial and municipal responsibilities.

Similar situations have arisen elsewhere in Canada, such as extortion related shootings in British Columbia targeting South Asian businesses and personal residences. The Bishnoi gang, designated a terrorist entity by Canada in 2025, has publicly claimed it has more than 1,000 members operating in Canada to intimidate citizens and the police. Police say these organized criminals are a mix of foreign nationals and Canadian citizens and are not one group or individual but multiple groups threatening public safety.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has approximately 550 investigators responsible for roughly 33,000 outstanding deportation warrants. Organized crime has taken notice. To be clear, none of the individuals charged in the Toronto consulate or synagogue shootings are known to be immigration cases. But if organized criminal groups believe Canada’s enforcement capacity is overstretched, and that our laws on hate, extremism and violent attacks are too weak, it is reasonable to ask whether those same vulnerabilities can be exploited by extremist actors.

The federal government’s response, Bill C-9, created new offences for intimidation at places of worship and schools. The Canada Community Security Program (CCSP) received an additional $75 million over five years, and the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion was established in June. Although these are positive steps, they are not a strategy.

Months after police described antisemitism as systemic, and after repeated attacks on a foreign mission and the death of Toronto Police Service Constable Marc Pinizzotto, the Council’s first responsibility is to reassess the problem. Canadians should expect governments not only to reassess threats but to act decisively to reduce them.

This requires co-ordinated action across jurisdictions.

Federally, Ottawa should establish a national hate/extremism crime reporting system that follows cases from complaint to disposition. This would allow governments and the public to measure enforcement outcomes rather than just incident counts. The federal government should also strengthen oversight of charitable organizations with confirmed links to extremist activity and ensure digital platforms face meaningful consequences when they consistently facilitate organized hate and incitement. On top of that, a systematic overhaul of the Criminal Code and bail system is urgently needed.

Provincial governments have an equally important role. They should lead by strengthening Holocaust education and broader anti-racism/anti-hate instruction within K–12 curricula and require post-secondary institutions to enforce clear campus safety standards that distinguish lawful protest from intimidation and harassment. Hate speech is not free speech.

According to B’nai Brith Canada, across the country, a record 6,800 antisemitic incidents were recorded in 2025 alone, including assault, arson, vandalism, gunfire and more. Jewish schools, businesses, places of worship and entire neighbourhoods have been targeted, leaving many Jews to feel unsafe in their own homes and communities. So far in 2026, violent antisemitic incidents have more than doubled, with 27 recorded incidents compared with 10 in all of 2025.

Alberta’s own experience demonstrates why this matters. Following October 7, Calgary and Edmonton saw significant increases in antisemitic incidents. In 2025, the provincial government allocated $200,000 to the Jewish Federations of Edmonton and Calgary to fund educational programs, security and engagement with law enforcement across the province. Incidents in Alberta decreased from 916 in 2024 to 677 in 2025, and more work needs to be done. This is not simply a challenge facing Toronto or Montreal.

Municipally, governments should have the flexibility to establish narrowly tailored security perimeters around synagogues, schools, community centres and businesses that face credible threats. They should also have faster access to federal security infrastructure funding so that vulnerable institutions are not left carrying the financial burden of protecting themselves. Less siloed and more responsive and proactive municipal policing is also needed.

In a healthy democracy, public confidence should come from the actions of governments, not from citizens who feel compelled to fill a leadership vacuum.

History shows that democracies rarely weaken because of a single incident. They weaken when repeated attacks on targeted citizens, public institutions, diplomatic missions and religious communities are treated as disconnected events instead of symptoms of a broader problem.

Canada has ample evidence that organized hate and extremism are becoming more sophisticated and more co-ordinated. The question is no longer whether the challenge exists or if a reassessment is needed. It is whether governments at every level are prepared to respond with the degree of urgency, coordination and resolve needed. This will be the real test of Canada’s democratic resilience.

National Post

Gary Mar is president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation.