Carney’s antisemitism speech was an abomination

By refusing to call out the far-left and radical groups stoking antisemitism, the Prime Minister has left Jewish Canadians vulnerable and alone

It was revealed late last week that Prime Minister Mark Carney was going to speak about how his Liberal government would tackle rising levels of antisemitism in Canada. While no one was privy to what Carney was going to say, the hope was that he would use this moment to turn the page on this terrible scourge in our country.

Alas, hope didn’t spring eternal.

Carney’s speech about antisemitism in Canada was an abomination. It said nothing, did nothing and accomplished nothing. “I’d already guessed that Carney’s speech was going to be a tone-deaf mess,” I posted on X on June 1, and it “turned out to be even worse than I thought.”

Let’s examine why.

Antisemitism has grown rapidly in Canada since the bloodthirsty terrorist organization Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. B’nai Brith Canada documented 6,800 incidents of antisemitism in this country in 2025. That’s a “record high for our nation,” an increase of 9.3 percent from 2024 and an average of “18.6 incidents of hate per day.” The number of antisemitic incidents in Canada between 2022 and 2025 has also reportedly increased by a shocking 145.6 percent.

As B’nai Brith Canada put it, “antisemitism is a national crisis and must be treated as such.” Except it’s not.

The federal government, like most provincial governments and municipal governments, has spoken out against antisemitism and attacks on the Jewish community. Similar to what they’ve done with respect to attacks on Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and other religious communities. That’s fine, but actions always speak louder than words. When it comes to rising levels of antisemitism, Carney and the Liberals have walked on the eggshells the past few years. The fact that many other political leaders have done the same thing doesn’t excuse their behaviour or distance from the issue at hand.

Hence, the PM’s speech was a unique opportunity to move the political needle back in the right direction. “This should include a full-throated denunciation of the sources of anti-Jewish hate,” the National Post’s editorial board wrote on May 30, “a strong commitment to uphold the laws of the land and solid plans to reform immigration and exorcise the rot in our education system.”

Carney didn’t do any of this during his speech at the Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. It showed him to be nothing more than, to quote Canadaland editor and publisher Jesse Brown, a “coward.”

“Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians,” Carney said. “If that covenant fails for one of our communities, it fails us all.” While he listed several antisemitic incidents that have occurred, he never mentioned the hate-filled individuals and groups behind them. Not a word related to far-left activists, radical Islam, vicious anti-Semites who rally against Jews and Israel on Canadian streets and communities.

If the PM won’t identify the perpetrators, or simply can’t be bothered to list them, then there can be no expectation of gaining any traction on this issue. It’s just not possible.

“The crisis of antisemitism in Canada today is specific, severe, and demands a targeted response,” Carney noted, and “our government is fully committed to that response.” What’s the PM’s strategy in this regard? The Liberals are going to launch a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion. It will be chaired by Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture. There will be seven members of this advisory council, including former Liberal cabinet minister Omar Alghabra, Dr. Aftab Erfan of Simon Fraser University and retired Olympic speed skater Catriona Le May Doan. Only one of them, former Senator Marc Gold, is Jewish.

How will this help matters at all? It won’t.

The advisory council will pay a small amount of meaningless lip service to a few tiny issues involving antisemitism. Most significant incidents and revealing statistics will either get buried or ignored during their infrequent meetings. Solutions won’t be forthcoming. Getting the problem under control will be nothing more than a fantasy. That’s what often happens in government committees and appointed councils in our country’s history. It surely won’t be any different in this instance.

For some additional perspective, Conservative MP and Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman summed things up quite nicely in an X post on June 1. “Carney’s new antisemitism council is chaired by Marc Miller, the guy who championed C-9 to criminalize Torah readings, and who signed off on Laith Marouf, a man who called for violence against Jews, getting $133K in federal funding. Are they serious?”

Ay, there’s the rub. Carney thinks he’s tackling antisemitism in a serious fashion, when in reality he’s taking a distinctly unserious approach that won’t resolve anything.

The PM’s abominable response should concern Canadians from all walks of life. Every religious community, including Jews, should be able to practice their faith openly and publicly without any fear of being attacked and assaulted by racist and hateful individuals and groups. Unfortunately, this won’t happen under Carney’s cowardly leadership.

Michael Taube is a political commentator, a Troy Media syndicated columnist and a former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.