Federal government announces $10M to fund programs to counter antisemitism

OTTAWA — The federal government is putting an additional $10 million into a program aimed at helping community groups counter violent extremism and antisemitism.

Official Languages Minister Rachel Bendayan told the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism on Thursday that the money will go toward the Community Resilience Fund.

She said the money will help fund security services at grassroots organizations and help their staff better understand the early warning signs of extremism.

Bendayan, who is Jewish, said she encountered antisemitism during the 2021 election. She said that as she was walking her daughter to daycare, she came across one of her campaign signs that had been defaced with a red swastika.

“What struck me most about that moment wasn’t just the hate behind the vandalism itself, but it was my daughter’s reaction,” Bendayan told the crowd at the forum.

“Even without knowing what a swastika was, she instinctively understood that this symbol meant something was very deeply wrong. If a young child can feel that darkness, we — each of us — have a responsibility to confront it.”

The Community Resilience Fund is meant to provide money for projects undertaken by non-profit organizations, educational institutions, other levels of government and police agencies.

It currently operates on a $7-million annual budget. The $10 million is a one-time funding increase.

Bendayan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the summit Canada has seen a dramatic increase in antisemitic acts since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.

Trudeau said that while he knew many people in the forum crowd disagreed with some of the government’s stances since that attack, it was important for him to be there to stand against antisemitism.

The prime minister recalled a warning from two Canadian Auschwitz survivors he met in Poland in January at the 80th anniversary of the death camp’s liberation — that the post-Holocaust mantra of “never again” is waning.

“Memory (of the Holocaust) is fading, denialism is increasingly mainstream, and the warning lights are increasingly flashing red,” Trudeau said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2025.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press