Nova Scotia has the highest police-reported hate crime rate in the country

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

New data from Statistics Canada shows that Nova Scotia has the highest police-reported hate crime rate among the provinces.

The report, released May 25, details data from 2023 when the country recorded “a sharp rise” in hate crimes. In Canada, there were 4,777 incidents reported, which is up 32 per cent from the year prior.

StatCan notes that the number of police-reported hate crimes has more than doubled in the last four years — up 130 per cent from 2019-2023. When comparing provinces across the country, analysts use the reported hate crime rate, which for Canada is 12.0 incidents per 100,000 people.

In Nova Scotia, that number jumps to 18.2 incidents per 100,000 people.

The report notes that this large difference can be blamed, in part, on the dedicated hate crimes unit in Halifax, which results in higher reporting and increased public awareness.

“One does not have to go far to see examples of this,” Raymond Sheppard, African Nova Scotia and social justice advocate, told the Todd Veinotte Show, Tuesday morning.

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Just last week, RCMP officers said they are investigating an alleged assault on fishers in the Eastern Passage as a hate crime. It took place earlier this month. Police were called and found two people with serious injuries and arrested two others.

Officers took fishing hooks and a metal pipe that they said was used as weapons in the assault.

Sheppard said he believes a lack of understanding of history and how certain histories are taught in school plays a part in the issues.

“There there has to be not only a strategy put in place to deal with this, but there has to be pro-action,” he said.

(Statistics Canada)

There are more hate crimes targeting religion and sexual orientation in the latest data. Those incidents are up 67 and 69 per cent each. The Jewish community faced more hate crimes than any other religion, the data shows.

Hate crimes against those in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community targeted the gay and lesbian populations, lower than in the previous years, StatCan notes. Making up the rest of the incidents are hate crimes focusing on other sexual orientations, such as pansexual people, the bisexual population, and about 22 per cent is unknown.

Hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity, which is the most common type of police-reported crime, increased 6 per cent.

Ontario follows with 15.6 incidents per 100,000 people. The lowest rate was recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador with 3.3 incidents per 100,000 population.