New government statistics show that hate crimes reported to police increased by five per cent in Canada in 2015. Attacks against Muslims and Arab or West Asian communities accounted for most of the increase.
Black populations most targeted
The number of attacks spurred by hate was 1,362 and that was 67 more than the previous year.
Crimes targeting the Muslim population rose from 99 in 2014 to 159 the year after. Crimes against the Jewish population declined from 213 to 178 over the same time period.
Although they were down in 2015, crimes targeting black populations continued to be the most common type of hate crime related to race or ethnicity. They made up 17 per cent of all hate crimes.
Non-Christian population growing
Statistics Canada notes that about 10 per cent of Canada’s population were members of a non-Christian religion in 2016. It projects the number of non-Christians could almost double by 2036.
It also notes that in 2015, several police services in Canada increased outreach to ethnic groups including Muslim communities. It adds the National Council of Canadian Muslims made effort to encourage the reporting of hate crimes to police.
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