Jewish organizations across Canada are sounding the alarm over a surge in antisemitism that has become so severe, some community members are now seriously exploring leaving the country altogether. Groups are arranging trips to Panama and Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Jewish Canadians who say they no longer feel secure at home.
The Toronto-based Tafsik Organization, a Jewish civil rights group, told The Media Line it is organizing a trip to Panama this month for people interested in relocating, following two earlier trips that drew dozens of participants. Meanwhile, the US-based organization Tulsa Tomorrow reported that more than 1,500 Canadians have expressed interest this year in its exploratory visits to Tulsa, with antisemitism frequently cited as the driving reason for considering a move.
Tulsa Tomorrow expects approximately 85 Canadians to visit this year, with its twice-yearly trips capped at 100 participants. In prior years, those trips attracted no more than 10 Canadians. The organization says it has helped three Canadian families permanently relocate since 2022.
Michael Sachs is one person who already made the move. He left Canada with his family last July after facing serious security threats while serving as director of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Western Canada in Vancouver. The threats were significant enough that police provided him with security assistance, and at one point protesters told his children that their parents were killers.
Sachs recalled that his wife, who had long kept her Star of David hidden, felt comfortable enough to wear it openly when they first visited Tulsa through the Tulsa Tomorrow program. “As a Jew, I feel that Tulsa has been a relief of stress for us as a Jewish family,” he said.
Rivka Campbell, executive director of Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto, said she has noticed more community members weighing immigration to Israel or moves to places they consider safer, such as the United States or Panama. She noted that some older Jewish community members who spend their winters in warmer parts of the US say they feel a sense of relief when they leave Canada. “We hear about how different it is. It’s almost like they can breathe when they leave Toronto,” she told The Media Line.
These conversations are unfolding against the backdrop of a sharp increase in antisemitic incidents that began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. B’nai Brith Canada documented 6,800 antisemitic incidents in 2025 — the highest number recorded since the organization began publishing annual reports in 1982.
Prime Minister Mark Carney stated in a speech last month that more than two-thirds of all religion-motivated hate crimes in Canada last year were directed at Jewish Canadians, a group that makes up roughly 1% of the country’s population.
In May, three people described by police as “visibly identifiable” members of the Jewish community were shot at with an imitation firearm while standing outside a Toronto synagogue. Following an arrest in the case, acting Deputy Chief Joe Matthews of the Toronto police said, “We recognize that Jewish residents have been living with a heightened sense of fear due to repeated incidents targeting their community, and this only adds to that, which is unacceptable.”
Campbell described the nature of antisemitism as becoming more brazen and open. She argued that existing hate crime laws are not being enforced with enough seriousness. “I know there’s this feeling, ‘Well, if we arrest them, they’ll probably get off.’ So what? So what? Arrest them anyway,” she said. “Send a message that we don’t tolerate hate in any form.”
Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman, who also serves as a member of parliament, told The Media Line that elected officials have failed to enforce the laws already on the books, which she believes has contributed to the rise in antisemitism. “Nobody should have to ask their government to enforce a law, because that’s the government’s job — but that’s where we’re at today. The fact that this is even controversial shows you just how much work we have to do to restore normalcy here in Canada,” she said.
A new federal law set to take effect in July will make it a criminal offense to intimidate or obstruct people trying to access places of worship, schools, and community centers used by identifiable groups. Public Safety Canada wrote in an email to The Media Line that “these measures are intended to address gaps in law enforcement and send a clear and consistent signal that hate will not be tolerated.”
Prime Minister Carney also launched the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion last month, saying it would evaluate antisemitism in Canada and help develop a coordinated government response to the issue.
Kim Werker, president of the Reform Jewish Community of Canada, told The Media Line that most of the antisemitic content she has personally encountered has been online, but that she has grown more cautious about being openly Jewish in public. “There are times I have tucked my Star of David into my shirt,” she said.
Werker noted that antisemitic language has become more casually used, with some teenagers now hearing it regularly. She said Jewish students have felt physically unsafe on certain university campuses in recent years. “What I’m seeing more are comments that indicate that people in our Canadian society do not see Jews as worthy of the same kinds of compassion and support as anyone else in Canada,” she said.
Amir Epstein of the Tafsik Organization told The Media Line he personally knows dozens of people who have already left Canada because of antisemitism and many more who are preparing to do so. “This is where we’ve come down to in our community, that people are really seriously looking to leave,” he stated.
Epstein said he himself has been falsely accused of being a Mossad agent and has received ongoing death threats. He said the volume of inquiries from older community members about leaving Canada grew so large that Tafsik created a program called Plan B — a Panama trip held in February and March for participants between the ages of 40 and 70. “We’re always getting emails from people saying, ‘Where do we go? What do we do?’ So, people are very seriously looking to leave,” he said.
At Tafsik events attended by 700 to 1,500 people, Epstein said roughly two-thirds of those present typically raise their hands when asked if they are considering leaving Canada. He noted that older community members have been more active in exploring relocation, while Jews under 40 appear less inclined to consider moving. Panama is viewed by many as a practical option because permanent residency there is considered relatively accessible.
Epstein acknowledged that Tulsa is not a realistic option for many families due to the difficulty and expense of immigrating to the United States. He noted that Orthodox Jews may be more likely to consider Israel, while more secular Jews may be put off by the cost of living there or by the language barrier.
Campbell said the feeling of vulnerability has deepened because hate crimes are not being met with a strong enough response. She said she has felt less safe over the past two years and lives with a constant worry about the threat of a lone attacker. “Of course, we feel physically vulnerable, 100%. And some will say, yeah, today may be OK, but there’s this underlying feeling of it’s a matter of time,” she said.
