January 14, 2025
NEW YORK – About 46 per cent of the global population holds explicitly antisemitic tendencies, according to B’nai Brith Canada’s sister agency in the United States, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The ADL presented these statistics in its 2024 Global 100 report, an opinion survey conducted every five years. Only 8 per cent of Canadian respondents displayed openly antisemitic attitudes, placing our country third out of the 103 surveyed. This figure was the same as in 2019, marking maintained improvement over 2014, when the ADL registered that 14 per cent held antisemitic attitudes.
The 8 per cent recorded in Canada is comparable to the figures from the U.S. and United Kingdom, both of which hover at about 9 per cent. The countries where respondents displayed the most antisemitic attitudes were, according to the survey, in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The ADL’s numbers reaffirm what B’nai Brith has been saying for years – that antisemitism is fundamentally un-Canadian,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “Canadian Jews continue to be held hostage by radical fringe group of hatemongers that do not represent the views of the majority.”
In 2023, B’nai Brith Canada’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents noted a 109.1 per cent increase in incidents over 2022. This included violent acts such as several attempted fire-bombings and shootings at Jewish institutions. An initial review of the figures for the year 2024 suggests that the situation only continues to deteriorate.
“The average Canadian is not an antisemite,” Robertson said. “The ADL’s figures are cause for optimism. But they underscore that a vocal fringe is becoming increasingly radicalized and carrying out a growing number of hateful acts. Our leaders must act promptly to mitigate this threat.”
