Jewish groups lamented an announcement by Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, that he is forming a “rights, equality and inclusion” council to replace the country’s offices of the special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, and special envoy on Islamophobia.
Justin Trudeau, the former prime minister, named Deborah Lyons, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel, the special envoy in October 2023. Lyons said on July 17, 2025, that she was stepping down three months early “with a heavy heart.”
“A position that I loved dearly but brought forth so many challenges, some deep disappointments, but in the end, some real achievements which I know will sustain the Jewish community and Canada in years to come,” she said at the time.
On Wednesday, the Canadian government said that the new council “will be comprised of prominent Canadians from academia as well as experts and community leaders, with a mission to foster social cohesion, rally Canadians around shared identity, combat racism and hate in all their forms and help guide the efforts of the government of Canada.”
Among the council’s most important functions will be “consulting and partnering with communities from coast to coast to build bridges between communities and combat all forms of racism and hate, including antisemitism and Islamophobia,” it said.
Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, stated that the group had been “proud” to work with the special envoy’s office, “which played a critical role in fighting the recent rise of Jew-hatred in the country.”
“In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre, Canadians woke up to the stark reality that antisemitism was surging uncontrollably, both across the globe and throughout Canada itself,” he said.
“It is bad enough that the last occupant of the office, Deborah Lyons, felt the moral obligation to resign last July,” Roytman said, “but Prime Minister Mark Carney’s disastrous decision today to eliminate the position altogether marked a shameful choice to double down on weak leadership, showing that Canada’s government is sadly not up to the task at this critical moment.”
If Carney won’t put in the “real work” to fight Jew-hatred, “then CAM and our Canadian partners will,” he added. “We are now working to establish a Canadian branch and plan to soon host the first-ever Canadian Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism.”
“Before then, we hope that Prime Minister Carney does what is right and changes course immediately,” he said.
‘Antisemitism has reached unprecedented proportions’
B’nai Brith Canada stated that the Canadian government must not “compromise its own efforts to combat antisemitism.”
“We are hopeful that this initiative will serve Canadians’ best interests and develop real strategies for combating the proliferation of hatred in our society,” stated Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith. “Unfortunately, the government failed to take advantage of its special envoy, allowing the position to remain vacant during a crisis of antisemitism.”
“The new advisory council must prioritize combating antisemitism. The numbers speak for themselves,” he said. “Urgent action is required to confront the problem head-on and without delay.”
B’nai Brith Canada said that the government decided to scrap the office a week after the Jewish group told Parliament that it should create a royal commission of inquiry on Jew-hatred.
“We also called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to fill the special envoy role, which we supported in principle as it provided Jewish Canadians with a trusted advocate within the government, or to find an alternative solution that addresses the swell of Jew-hatred and protects the safety and security of the Jewish community while identifying and eradicating sources of hate,” the organization said.
“The new advisory council must not dilute Canada’s efforts to combat antisemitism,” stated Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s chief executive officer. “Antisemitism has reached unprecedented proportions in Canada and requires heightened focus. The government must ensure it only appoints credible, capable experts who understand antisemitism’s distinct nature and grasp the challenge at hand.”
