The Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue in Thornhill, Ont., on Mar 9, 2026, which was hit by gunfire earlier this month, along with another synagogue.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
A major Canadian Jewish advocacy organization is pressing Ottawa to substantially increase spending on security for synagogues, schools and community centres in the upcoming spring economic statement.
In a letter to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, or CIJA, said additional money is urgently needed after national security agency warnings of a possible extremist attack against Canadian Jews.
The federal Integrated Threat Assessment Centre, or ITAC, warned earlier this month that a violent extremist attack against Canada’s Jewish community is a “realistic possibility” in the next six months.
Amid the war in Iran and the fallout from the Israel-Gaza conflict, ITAC assessed that the Canadian Jewish community – including schools, community centres and synagogues – is in danger. Any attack would most likely come from a lone-wolf extremist, using knives, small arms or a vehicle, the March 18 report said.
“In the wake of multiple attacks against Toronto-area synagogues, the latest report by the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre (ITAC) underscores the urgency of the unique threat,” CIJA chief executive officer Noah Shack said in letter to Mr. Champagne.
The March 24 letter to Mr. Champagne was provided to The Globe and Mail by CIJA.
Referring to the December, 2025, antisemitic attack that killed 15 people in Australia, Mr. Shack wrote: “We cannot wait for a Bondi Beach-type massacre to boost overall funding and support for security infrastructure that would help keep Canadians safe.”
After shots were fired at three Greater Toronto Area synagogues earlier this month, the federal government announced $10-million to enhance security at Jewish schools, community centres and synagogues.
Ottawa has also earmarked $11-million annually through the Canada Community Security Program, or CCSP. This money is used for buy security equipment for communities at risk of hate-motivated violence.
Since the launch of CCSP, the government has approved $7.3-million for 143 projects to help protect Jewish communities.
But Mr. Shack said Jewish communities have been spending an estimated $40-million annually on security - money that is being diverted from social services and education.
“No other community in Canada is required to bear such a burden to ensure basic safety,” he wrote. “These costs continue to rise as threats intensify, creating an immediate and unsustainable funding gap.”
Mr. Shack noted that the Anthony Albanese government has announced 100-million Australian dollars over three years to protect the Jewish community in that country.
“Even when considering the entire CCSP envelop, which is shared across multiple communities, Canada’s per-capita investment is one-third of that of the United Kingdom and one-quarter of that of Australia” he wrote.
Stephen Brown, chief executive officer of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said the major concern within the Muslim community is delays in CCSP approvals.
“More funding would be great, but primarily we want the program to be more responsive to its applicants,“ Mr. Brown said in a statement. ”Right now, applicants like mosques and community centres are waiting for months if not over a year for a response to their applications.”
ITAC said in its report that the longer the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran continues, the more likelihood that the Canadian Jewish community will experience “violent rhetoric, hate crime and criminal intimidation.”
Three Greater Toronto synagogues - Shaarei Shomayim, Beth Avraham Yoseph and Temple Emanu-El - were sprayed with gunfire earlier this month. No one was injured.
In 2024, the Kehillat Torah Synagogue in North York, Ont., was vandalized 10 times while Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal was fired bombed, after a similar attack in 2023. That same year, Yeshiva Gedola Jewish day school in Montreal was shot at twice in one week.
In May, 2024, Vancouver’s Congregation Schara Tzedeck was targeted in an arson attack. The synagogue says it has had to spend more than $1-million a year on security. No one was injured in these incidents.
Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise since the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with fierce bombardment and military intrusion into Gaza.
More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and tens of thousands left homeless. It has led to worldwide protests against Israel, with a rise in antisemitism, including in Canada.
ITAC, which is a specialized organization in the Canadian intelligence network, said there was not a specific threat the organization was aware of, or in what city an attack could take place.
ITAC was created in 2004 following the lead of allies, such as the United States, Britain and Australia, which had created agencies to manage assessments of threats to their countries. It is an independent body staffed from members of Canada’s various intelligence networks as well as the RCMP, the department of National Defence and the Canada Border Services Agency.