The Royal Canadian Mounted Police acknowledged that the groups they identify as “hate groups” are becoming increasingly racially diverse.
In its 2024 report, “Hate Crimes and Incidents in Canada,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the FBI’s equivalent) attempted to identify the sources of hate crimes and explain the reasons behind them.
The law defines a hate group as an organization that promotes “hateful orientation or aims.”
The report primarily blamed populist politics for the overall increase in hateful acts and noted that 2016 marked the first significant spike in hate crimes.
“The first significant increase in hate crimes began in 2016 and coincided with the rise of populist politics and inflammatory rhetoric directed at immigrants, people of color, and religious minority groups,” the report argues.
The report also blamed COVID-19 for “increasing societal polarization,” saying “xenophobic and racist rhetoric” alongside the rise of “populist politics” portraying racial and religious minorities as threats to community safety and national security.
“The Canadian government and its agencies can only attack groups that do not have political party influence.”
As for why people join hate groups, the RCMP said it’s because members are seeking identity, meaning and personal significance. Government Report The committee argued that research shows hate groups are “overwhelmingly white and male,” but also said they are becoming more diverse.
“People who join hate groups come from all socioeconomic backgrounds, professions and, perhaps surprisingly, appear to be increasingly racially/ethnically diverse.”
Abduselam Bezirgan, an independent Turkish-Canadian journalist, told Blaze News that it is customary for the Canadian government to refer to any group disgruntled with the ruling party as a “hate group.”
“Groups that the RCMP classify as hate groups are often made up of individuals who have legitimate grievances about the politics of the country that have negatively affected them in some way. The common thread is that they are not politically correct and reach conclusions based on what they believe to be true.”
“The Canadian government and its agencies can only attack groups that do not have political party influence,” he continued.
“Groups that have influence over liberals and conservatives will not face scrutiny from the media, intelligence agencies or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Bezirgan added.
The government report further stated that “online hate speech” surged by 600 percent between November 2015 and November 2016, again suggesting that populist politics have “normalized” inflammatory online speech.
The report said it’s difficult to determine how many hate groups actually exist in Canada, saying they “rise, split and disband all the time.” Instead, it relies on outside research to back up its claims.
Based on selected sources, the RCMP estimated that there were between 70 and 300 hate groups, and claimed there was a “general consensus” that hate groups were on the rise.
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