Visitors to Canada engaging in antisemitic crime would be deported, and anti-Jewish vandalism and arson would be met with tougher laws under a Conservative-led federal government, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said during a Saturday Canadian general election campaign event in Ottawa, promising Canadian Jews alleviation from increased antisemitic incidents in the country that he attributed to Liberal Party policies and rhetoric.
After his presentation about the Conservative plan to increase benefits and support for military veterans, Poilievre laid out his position on antisemitism and anti-Israel activity in response to a Toronto Sun query about rising antisemitism since the October 7 massacre and Liberal Party leader Mark Carney’s Tuesday gaffe suggesting that a genocide was being carried out in Gaza.
“We will bring in tougher laws to target vandalism, hate marches that break laws, violent attacks based on ethnicity and religion,” Poilievre said, according to a Cable Public Affairs Channel broadcast. “Anyone who’s here on a visitor visa who carries out law-breaking will be deported from this country and there will be very serious jail time and, on top of that, fines for anyone who carries out antisemitic vandalism or property damage.”
'Rampaging chaos' targeting Canada's synagogues, Conservatives leader says
Poilievre decried the situation in Canada relating to hate-based and political violence, describing “rampaging chaos” in the country’s streets targeting synagogues and Jewish schools with vandalism and arson attacks.
“The Jewish community feels understandably under siege as these hate-marches and antisemitic outbursts have become an unfortunate part of Canadian life,” said Poilievre.
“My closing message on this to Canada’s Jewish community is: You are not alone, you have friends, Canadians stand with you. You have the right to wear your Star of David, your kippa, and to have your mezuzah on your door. You should feel proud to be Jewish and you should never have to hide your Jewishness in order to stay safe; and as your prime minister, I will fight for your safety, your security, and your acceptance, every single day.”
Poilievre said that there had been a 251% increase in hate crimes in the country since the 2023 terrorist attacks in southern Israel, but that the Hamas-led pogrom was not solely to blame for all the rising hatred in Canada, as there had been a 100% increase in hate crimes before the massacre. The federal opposition leader said that antisemitic and hate crimes were the “direct result of radical liberal policies and divisive rhetoric that has driven our people apart.”
“The Liberals have encouraged these divisions,” said Poilievre. “We see what they do: They say one thing to one group, and then exactly the opposite to another group – they turn Canadians against Canadians and they’ve been doing it for 10 years.”
Poilievre explained that the resulting violence and unrest in Canadian streets was a previously unknown phenomenon in the North American country, and it fell on the Conservative Party to unite Canadians again so that citizens of all backgrounds could feel safe again.
“These things were unheard of 10 years ago – we’ve always had debates and disagreements about foreign issues in Canada but those disagreements did not spill into violence on our streets,” said Poilievre. “People left the violence abroad, that’s why they came to this country, to live in peace and in freedom so that disagreements can play themselves out in debate, not in fire bombings and physical violence.”
Laborers’ International Union of North America international vice president Joseph Mancinelli praised Poilievre for his statements against antisemitism on social media.
“Seeing our country become complacent, and worse, embolden the worst surge of antisemitism, has broken my heart,” Mancinelli warned on X/Twitter on Sunday. “This is not the Canada I know.”
Poilievre’s campaign statements calling for the deportation of antisemitic criminals ahead of the April 28 federal election are not new. At a January 27 Ottawa Holocaust memorial ceremony, Poilievre said that it was not enough to condemn antisemitic crime. It was necessary to take action by deporting “any temporary resident that is here on a permit or a Visa that is carrying out violence or hate crimes on our soil.”
During the speech, the Carleton Member of Parliament blamed “obscene woke ideologies” for the rise in antisemitism. He also called it “obscene” that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials have been operating in Canada for years. He affirmed his support for Israel and the Jewish state’s role as an ally of Canada.
According to B’nai Brith Canada’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents published last Monday, there were 6,219 recorded incidents in 2024. This would represent a 7.4% increase in antisemitic incidents from 2023, in which there were 5,791 antisemitic incidents.