Antisemitic Violence Surges in Canada with Coordinated Attacks on Orthodox Jews in Montreal
Canada is witnessing an unprecedented rise in antisemitic violence in 2026, according to a report released by B'nai Brith Canada on June 9. Since the start of the year, 27 violent antisemitic incidents have been recorded, more than double the 10 incidents documented throughout 2025. These attacks include shootings targeting Jewish institutions. Richard Robertson, the organization's research and advocacy director, noted that 2026 ranks second only to 2023, when 77 violent antisemitic events occurred following the Hamas terror attack on October 7 and the ensuing war. However, the current year's incidents already surpass those reported in 2022, 2024, and 2025 combined.
The report highlights a series of coordinated assaults on July 3 in Montreal's Outremont neighborhood, where Orthodox Jewish men returning from synagogue services were attacked. Video footage, victim testimonies, and police reports reveal that assailants physically assaulted victims and stole their traditional fur hats (shtreimels). Some attackers threw bottles and shouted antisemitic slurs. Robertson described these attacks as increasingly targeted, brazen, and severe, calling it "unthinkable that in 2026 Jews are attacked this way in Canada."
Simon Wolfa, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, criticized Canadian leadership for insufficient action despite Prime Minister Mark Carney's condemnation of antisemitism in June and acknowledgment of the government's failure to protect the Jewish community. Wolfa urged Canadian leaders to confront antisemitism and all forms of hatred directly. The organization also pointed out that law enforcement data confirms Jews are the minority group most affected by hate crimes in Canada, and recent surveys show Canadian Jews feel increasingly unsafe and unwelcome.
In response to the attacks, Montreal police arrested two suspects linked to the assaults on Hasidic men in Outremont and Mile End neighborhoods, as reported by the Montreal Gazette. The Quebec Hasidic Jewish Council condemned the violence and emphasized the importance of completing the legal process. Victims endured not only theft and physical attacks but also antisemitic insults and, in one case, an assault on a wheelchair-bound individual involving spitting.
B'nai Brith Canada is calling on the federal government to establish a national task force to combat antisemitism, enhance hate crime law enforcement, improve cooperation among law enforcement agencies, and recognize anti-Zionist expressions as forms of antisemitism.
