A new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) reveals an “absolutely staggering” increase in hate directed towards South Asian communities in Canada, with online slurs and targeted harassment escalating dramatically. Between 2023 and 2024, anti-South Asian content on social media platform X saw a more than 1,350 percent spike. This digital surge is mirrored by a 227 percent increase in police-reported hate crimes against South Asians since 2019, based on the latest data from Statistics Canada. In 2023, South Asians were the third most targeted group for racial hate crimes in Canada, behind Black and Arab populations.
Steven Rai, a domestic extremism analyst with ISD, initiated the study after observing a rise in hateful posts and confirmed through data that South Asians are now disproportionately targeted online compared to other racial or religious minorities. The rhetoric employed is increasingly dehumanizing, portraying South Asians, particularly those of Indian origin, as “invaders” or “criminals.” This phenomenon is linked to broader political and economic anxieties within Canada, with some Canadians scapegoating South Asian immigrants for issues such as housing shortages and employment concerns, especially given their high visibility in urban centers like Brampton and Surrey.
The report highlights that the April federal election saw a further surge in hateful posts, with prominent South Asian politicians, including former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, becoming prime targets. Extremist groups, such as the white supremacist organization Diagalon, are identified as significant amplifiers of this hate. Diagalon, which gained prominence during the pandemic, has aggressively spread anti-Indian Canadian sentiment, often invoking the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory to fuel fears of demographic change through non-white immigration. Between May 2023 and April 2025, there were over 26,600 posts containing “pajeet” and other anti-South Asian slurs in the Canadian context on X, compared to nearly 1,600 posts with anti-Muslim slurs. During the lead-up to the April federal election (March 1 to April 20, 2025), over 2,300 posts with anti-South Asian rhetoric were shared by Canadian extremist accounts, generating over 1.2 million engagements.
Rai warns that anti-South Asian sentiment is contributing to a broader narrative portraying Canada as a country in decline due to multiculturalism. As hate crimes continue to rise and digital spaces become more hostile, the ISD report urges authorities and social media platforms to implement stronger measures to combat racism and online extremism, emphasizing the urgent need to prevent further real-world consequences for these communities and the fabric of Canadian society.