Hate crimes are still on the rise in the country, according to Statistics Canada, but Quebec is below the national average.
This category of crimes increased by 27% between 2020 and 2021, the most recent year for which the federal statistics agency released data. A marked increase was also noted in 2020.
We are only talking here about crimes that have been reported to the police. Members of some communities who are targets of hate may not file a complaint for a variety of reasons, including if they distrust the police. In addition, it should be noted that an increase in “reported crimes” does not always mean that a greater number of offenses have been committed: it is possible that citizens were more inclined to go to the police to report them.
Why such an increase? Statistics Canada’s analysis reveals that occurrences of discrimination in the country — including hate crimes — have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, “during which the debate on issues of systemic discrimination has also the extent. »
The increase in the number of hate crimes recorded from 2020 to 2021 is largely attributable to those that targeted a religion, sexual orientation or race. Moreover, those targeting a religion have reached an all-time high, according to Statistics Canada, after three years of consecutive declines.
Between 2018 and 2021, the rate of hate crimes (per 100,000 population) has steadily increased across the country, in every province.
And for each of these four years, the rate was lower in Quebec than the national average.
For example, in 2021, the rate was 8.8 in the country while it was 5.7 in Quebec. In 2020, it was 7 in Canada compared to 5.3 in Quebec.
British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario had the highest hate crime incidence rates in 2021.