ONLINE HATE AND WHO IS SEEN AS THE MAIN VICTIMS OF HATE CRIMES IN CANADA

Canadians are increasingly observing increases in hate expression online as some three quarters of Canadians believe it is on the rise. For many Canadians the degree of hate expression online is so pervasive that it becomes somewhat banal to Canadians. Hence, some 60% of Canadians ignore the expression of hate when they see it online. With police authorities reporting a considerable increase in hate crimes, we asked Canada in an open format question to name the group that they felt was most likely to be the target of hate crimes. Jews topped the list with 23% of respondents identifying the group as the most likely target while 10% named Muslims who were seen as the second most likely target of hate crimes. There were important differences in perceptions on the basis of gender and age. The survey was conducted by the firm Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies over the period September 20-22, 2024 with a sample of 1612 Canadians.