The Canadian Jewish community is “questioning its future” amid escalating antisemitism unprecedented in the last half century, the head of a prominent Canadian Jewish organization said this week.
The comments come after the Canadian Jewish community has faced more violent attacks in just over four months of this year than in all of last year, putting 2026 on track to be the most violent year for the Jewish community this century.
“The worsening crisis has left members of the Jewish community questioning their future in this country,” Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, told JNS this week. “No Jewish community in this country has been left unscathed over the past several years; across Canada, Jews are fearing for their collective safety and their ability to practice their faith openly.”
He urged the Canadian government, which has been highly critical of Israel, to immediately take decisive action to secure Jewish life in Canada and hold perpetrators of hate and violent extremism accountable.
Last week, the Jewish advocacy organization cited 11 violent antisemitic incidents nationwide, including multiple synagogue attacks, since Jan. 1, surpassing the 10 violent incidents documented during all of 2025.
About 400,000 Jews live in Canada, mainly in Toronto and Montreal, making it the fourth-largest Jewish community in the world.
Seeking to curb the rash of racial violence and hate, the Canadian Jewish organization has launched a campaign calling on the government to list the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity, as the United States has, but has received no response to date.
Wolle said that B’nai Brith Canada has contacted the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, who is responsible for reviewing the country’s terrorist designations and countering threats to its national security, to express its concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood and its branches, which provide the financial and logistical support that fuels groups already banned in Canada, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
An entity can be listed in the Criminal Code as a terrorist organization in Canada if it knowingly commits, attempts to commit, or aids in the commission of terrorism, Wolle said. Groups can also be added if they operate under the direction of, or in direct association with, an organization already listed.
“Failing to list them makes Canada a potential weak link in continental security,” he said.
Last year, Canada recorded a record 6,800 antisemitic incidents, the highest since the organization began tracking in 1982, and representing an average of 18.6 incidents per day, according to a recent B’nai Brith report.
“How come Jews make up less than 1% of Canada’s population yet suffer 70% of its religious hate crimes?” the Israeli Foreign Ministry asked Tuesday in a tweet. “And while the incidents keep adding up, the incitement continues.”
“Canada’s government has failed to protect the Jewish community,” the post continued. “The time to ban incitement is now.”
