Carney Unveils National Council to Combat Antisemitism, Admits Canada Is Failing Jewish Citizens
Prime Minister Mark Carney declared Monday that Canada is failing its Jewish citizens, acknowledging a dangerous “scourge” of antisemitism and unveiling new details about a national advisory council designed to confront hate in all its forms.
Speaking before more than 150 people at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto’s Jewish community, Carney said the pain facing Jewish Canadians must stop. “The pain, threats and fears can appear relentless,” he said, adding that addressing hate requires “clearly admitting that Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians.”
A Pattern of Violence
Carney cited a troubling catalogue of incidents: schools struck by gunfire, business owners and hospital patients harassed, synagogues firebombed, and students driven from public spaces.
His remarks came as Toronto police announced charges against five more individuals, aged 19 to 48, for allegedly promoting hatred against the Jewish community during a March protest near the temple.
Antisemitic incidents have surged across Canada following Hamas’s deadly October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Israel has faced widespread international condemnation over the death toll, restrictions on humanitarian aid, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
The New Advisory Council
Carney received a standing ovation after revealing expanded details about the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion, chaired by Marc Miller, the minister of identity and inclusion.
The council’s mandate includes reassessing the “nature, scale, and drivers of antisemitism” — on campuses, in workplaces, and in online spaces — as well as reviewing federal policies and public safety programs to ensure they protect Jewish Canadians and other targeted communities.
The council will also improve data collection on hate incidents and measure the impact of federal investments in education and community safety.
Newly announced council member Marc Gold — a retired senator, law professor, and former chair of the Canada-Israel Committee — will join a roster that includes:
The Liberal government first announced the council in February, at the same time it eliminated stand-alone federal envoys dedicated to combatting Islamophobia and antisemitism. A Senate committee studying antisemitism called in April for Carney to restore the antisemitism envoy.
Pointed Words From the Pulpit
Holy Blossom’s senior rabbi, Yael Splansky, welcomed Carney in videotaped remarks recorded from Massachusetts, where her father is receiving medical treatment. Her words were polite but direct.
She urged the prime minister to halt what she described as the normalization of antisemitism, warning that some Torontonians are considering “fleeing Canada altogether, as Jews and as lovers of Israel.” She added: “When Canadian leaders publicly condemn Israel, Canadian Jews pay the price.”
Carney recently summoned Israel’s ambassador to Canada to express that Israel’s treatment of detained Gaza flotilla activists was “abominable.”
Holy Blossom’s cantor, David Rosen, told the Toronto Star after the speech that attendees appreciated hearing Carney “name the things that have been deeply disturbing the Jewish people,” but said he wants more details about the council before judging whether it will make Jews safer.
Political Pressure Mounts
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre used the occasion to demand accountability from the governing Liberals. “Mark Carney should lay out an apology to the Jewish community for the violence, the terror and the fear that his party and his government have allowed to happen over the last decade,” Poilievre told reporters Monday.
The Liberal government has introduced Bill C-9, known as the hate crime bill, to address rising hate crimes targeting Jewish and Muslim Canadians. The bill passed the House of Commons in March and is currently before the Senate’s human rights committee.
Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said the government must go further — tackling radicalization, the promotion of terrorism, and what he described as terrorist entities operating in Canada. “The prime minister has an opportunity to set the tone from the highest office,” Shack said in a statement Sunday, “to make clear that nothing can justify the hatred, intimidation, and violence Jewish Canadians are experiencing.”
