Statistics Canada is reporting that police-reported hate crimes jumped sharply in 2017 across Canada.
The federal agency said they were up 47 per cent, largely due to an increase in crimes against the Muslim, Jewish, and Black populations. These increases, it said, were largely in Ontario and Quebec. Data shows that incidents in Ontario rose from 612 in 2016 to 1,023 in 2017, which is a 67 per cent rise. Hate crimes targeting Muslims in Ontario jumped 207 per cent, while hate crimes against Blacks rose 84 per cent and hate crimes targeting Jewish people increased 41 per cent.
Statistics Canada adds there were a total of 2,073 hate crimes reported last year, an increase mostly due to a spike in graffiti and other forms of vandalism. That's 664 more than in 2016 and the highest number reported since data started being collected in 2009.
Statistics Canada believes the increase may be related to more reporting by the public because of outreach by police to communities or heightened sensitivity after high profile events.
A 2014 survey showed that Canadians self-reported being the victim of over 330,000 criminal incidents that they perceived as being motivated by hate but two-thirds of these incidents were not reported to the police.
Infographic of police-reported hate crimes across Canada in 2017. (Photo courtesy of Statistics Canada)
