A video circulating on social media Friday showed an elderly Sikh being harassed by a youth in Woodstock, Ontario. The youth is seen shoving the victim who does not retaliate. Police arrested the youth after members of the public reported the incident. The footage illustrates the rising graph of hate crimes against Sikhs in Canada.
According to a report released by the World Sikh Organisation (WSO) recently, 65% of Sikh Canadians experienced verbal harassment. An overwhelming majority – more than 70%- chose not to report hate incidents to authorities. The report, ‘Understanding and Addressing Anti-Sikh Hate in Canada’, found that 80% of the respondents believed anti-Sikh hate had increased in recent years. It identifies racism, xenophobia and misinformation as the leading causes of hate crimes. Funded by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the report surveyed more than 1,600 Sikh Canadians between January and March 2025. Sikhs constitute about 2% of the total population in Canada. The WSO said the findings highlight the urgent need for awareness and stronger protections against hate-driven incidents across the country.
One of the reasons behind the survey was the absence of data. Statistics Canada do not break down crime data in detail unlike the FBI in the United States. A recent analysis of preliminary FBI data revealed a 3,700% jump in anti-Sikh crime in the US in the past decade. US-based civil rights group Sikh Coalition reported last year that Sikhs were the third most-targeted religious group after Jews and Muslims in hate crimes.
According to a dispatch by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, police-reported hate crimes against South Asians in Canada increased by more than 200 % between 2019 and 2023. South Asians were the third most targeted category for racial hate crimes in Canada in 2023 behind Blacks and Arabs. In the run up to the federal elections last year, there was a surge in online hate targeted at the New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh.
By bringing out the first-ever report on anti-Sikh hate crimes, the community hopes the Canadian government will initiate its own survey into the growing problem and take note of the urgent need for corrective action. For starters, the government could adopt a formal definition of anti-Sikh hate like it recognized Islamophobia in 2017. The report demands social media platforms be held accountable for unchecked spread of hate.
Addressing anti-Sikh hate in Canada will hinge on better data collection, clearer legal definitions, and stronger accountability mechanisms, especially in the digital space where much of this hostility is amplified. Equally important is fostering public awareness that counters misinformation and humanizes the communities being targeted. Without sustained institutional commitment and societal engagement, such incidents risk becoming normalized.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of Sadda Punjab or any affiliated organization.
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