Carney says Jewish Canadians are being 'brutally targeted' and the country is failing them - National Post

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at Holy Blossom Temple synagogue in Toronto on Monday June 1, 2026. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/PostArticle contentOTTAWA — Canada’s Jewish community is being “brutally targeted” amid a crisis of antisemitism, Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a speech in which he declared the country “is failing Jewish Canadians.”

Speaking from Holy Blossom Temple synagogue in Toronto Monday afternoon, Carney denounced the “scourge of antisemitism” afflicting Canada’s Jewish community and pledged to do more to stop it.

But he also called on Canadians to stop importing the world’s conflicts and hatreds here, arguing that Jewish Canadians do not bear the responsibility of events unfolding overseas.

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“A country where Jewish schools need security guards, where synagogues need barriers and where Jewish children attend schools hidden behind a protective perimeter is a country that is protecting its citizens, but is failing to protect its civic compact,” he said.

“Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians,” he added. “If that convenant fails for one of our communities, it fails us all.”

Carney used the speech to announce the creation of a ministerial advisory council on rights, equality and inclusion. The new body will be chaired by Heritage Minister Marc Miller and will include Senator Marc Gold, he said.

The council will be tasked with reassessing the nature, scale and drivers of antisemitism in Canada, coordinating the government’s approach to combatting it, improve the research and data collection on hate incidents writ large and measure the impact of government measures on community safety.

“The crisis of antisemitism in Canada today is specific, severe, and demands a targeted response. Our government is fully committed to that response,” Carney said.