Police investigate after swastika spray-painted at Kelvin High School Comes days after city synagogue vandalized By: Scott Billeck Posted: 2:08 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 Last Modified: 5:01 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 Updates

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A Winnipeg high school has become the latest target of antisemitic graffiti, days after a nearby synagogue was defaced with similar imagery that police are treating as a hate crime.

In a letter sent to parents Tuesday, Winnipeg School Division superintendent Matt Henderson said he was informed that a swastika had been scrawled at Kelvin High School.

“This hate crime is not acceptable or tolerated on Winnipeg School Division property, or anywhere in our school community,” Henderson wrote. “We are all extremely concerned and upset by this cowardly act.”

Few details were provided to parents about when or where the graffiti appeared. Henderson said the Winnipeg Police Service’s major crimes unit has been notified.

The WPS confirmed it was investigating, but provided no further details. The school division did not return a request for comment and additional details.

The division said it has also contacted the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg to inform them of the incident and to share their concerns.

“We have also arranged for the graffiti to be removed immediately,” the letter said.

Henderson urged anyone with information about the vandalism to contact police.

“While rare, this type of hate is unacceptable,” he said. “I trust we will stand together to demonstrate our strength and vigilance in our school communities.”

The father of a Grade 12 student at Kelvin said he was satisfied with how the school division responded.

“Hopefully, this won’t become normal,” said Arkady, who did not provide his last name.

Arkady, who immigrated from Israel 20 years ago, said attitudes toward Jewish people in Canada have declined since then.

“But I strongly believe in Canada,” he said. “I like Canada. But probably something could be done better. But I’m not afraid. I’m not nervous.”

He said he remembered many similar incidents from his childhood in Israel, and that his children — two of whom have already graduated and are serving in the Canadian Armed Forces — grew up understanding how they might be treated.

“They are not too affected by this,” he said.

“Hopefully, this won’t become normal.”

Parents at Brock Corydon School, an elementary school in nearby River Heights that offers a Hebrew immersion program, were also notified of the incident through the same letter.

“It’s two stages when you are a parent — that you’re afraid for your kids, you’re afraid for the younger population of the Jewish community, and in general, as a Jew right now, it’s not something that anybody’s comfortable with,” said a Brock Corydon parent who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “It’s something that we’re fearful for.”

The parent said the past two years — since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing hundreds of festivalgoers, and particularly following an Islamic State-inspired attack that left 15 people dead at a beach in Sydney, Australia — have been marked by a mix of fear and anger.

“It’s something that we’ve always had to be aware of, and certainly something that you always sort of think about; do we need to be more careful, and do we need to be more alert?” the parent said. “And certainly in this height and time, everybody is concerned, and everybody is, honestly, afraid.”

“They’re worried about saying something that reveals that we’re Jewish in public places.”

The parent said those fears carry into conversations at home.

“They’re just as scared as we are,” they said. “They’re worried about saying something that reveals that we’re Jewish in public places.”

The tagging comes days after Congregation Shaarey Zedek, a couple of blocks away from Kelvin, was defaced.

That graffiti, spray-painted at about 4:30 a.m. Jan. 2, included two swastikas, the word “hate,” and another word believed to be an acronym, the meaning of which was not immediately clear. Maintenance staff discovered the graffiti later that morning and quickly removed most of it.

Police said Monday they are investigating that tagging as a hate crime.

In the early hours of Sunday, Habibiz Café, a Palestinian-owned hookah lounge and restaurant, was vandalized, its front windows smashed by an unknown assailant.

The individual also left a piece of paper with a message: “Leave our country terrorist. F—- off.”

One Jewish leader expressed worry after the synagogue tagging.

“We are concerned that this type of attack, intimidation, displays of hate and antisemitism, are becoming normalized in our Canadian way of life,” Gustavo Zentner, vice-president of Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, told the Free Press Sunday. “The problem with this is that once it gets normalized, it’s very difficult for society to uproot it, to take a stand against it, and to protect its own citizens.”

Police said citizens cannot just stand by and be bystanders.

“Within a matter of days, the Jewish and Palestinian communities have been impacted by incidents that appear to be motivated by hate, but certainly caused fear and harm,” Insp. Jennifer McKinnon, from the WPS’s major crimes unit, said Monday.

Political leaders also weighed in on the weekend’s incidents, with Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham saying hate needs to be snuffed out.

“We don’t want to see this,” Gillingham said Monday, adding he’s concerned about the rise in antisemitism in Winnipeg and across the nation.

In a social media post, Premier Wab Kinew echoed similar sentiments on Monday.

“The antisemitic graffiti at Shaarey Zedek was an attack on the Jewish community and on all Manitobans,” he said.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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