Hate crimes jump in Winnipeg in 2025

The number of reported crimes that were classified as hate-motivated by the Winnipeg Police Service more than doubled in 2025, although the true number of incidents is thought to be higher.

City police recorded 112 hate-motivated crimes in 2025, up from 44 in 2024 and 46 in 2023. The lowest total in the last seven years was 26 incidents in 2020.

David Bowman, director of the police service’s organizational development and support, said the 2025 increase is a “significant departure from historical norms in Winnipeg.”

Mischief, which includes graffiti and vandalism, was the most common type of hate-motivated crime, with 82 mischief incidents reported, followed by criminal harassment (nine), uttering threats (seven) and assault (six).

Bowman said the year-over-year increase could be attributed to a number of factors.

He said WPS changed its online reporting system to allow people to report hate-motivated graffiti, which accounted for 20 per cent of all incidents of hate-motivated crime last year.

“The expanded online reporting has improved visibility into incidents that were previously under-reported,” Bowman said as WPS released its 2025 statistical report Wednesday.

He said staff training and analytical review processes were “enhanced” to more consistently identify and classify hate-motivated incidents.

“That may explain part of the increase. We do recognize that broader global tensions are likely contributing to a real rise in incidents reflected in local reporting,” Bowman said.

Police have said recent conflict in the Middle East led to an increase in reports of an antisemitism and Islamophobia.

By group, police said 49 incidents were related to race/ethnicity, 37 to religion, 10 to sexual orientation, seven to immigrants/newcomers, and two to gender.

Six incidents were a combination of two or more motivations. One was classified in a data report as “other similar factor.”

For hate-motivated crimes related to race/ethnicity, 23 incidents targeted Black people, eight were directed at Arab people, four targeted people of Indian, Pakistani or South Asian origin, two targeted Indigenous Peoples and two targeted white people.

The report said 10 crimes targeted people of “other” race/ethnicity.

Maggie Yeboah, executive director of African Communities of Manitoba, said hate crimes make victims and wider community members feel unsafe.

“The expanded online reporting has improved visibility into incidents that were previously under-reported.”

“They feel like they are not welcome. Everyone wants to be in a place where they feel like they have a safe space, that they are respected, that they are welcome and they can live peacefully,” she said.

The organization prioritizes anti-racism awareness and equity programs, Yeboah said.

By religion, 32 hate-motivated crimes targeted Jewish people, three targeted Muslim people, one targeted a Christian Orthodox person or people, and one targeted a Sikh person or people.

Gustavo Zentner, a vice-president with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said the figures were alarming.

“No community based on their racial identity, their ethnicity or faith should be discriminated against or be singled out for who they are, where they come from or what faith they profess,” he said.

“That data really paints one picture but there is a human element you cannot read from statistics. Jewish Winnipeggers experience antisemitism and hate in a way that impacts our identity every day.”

Now is the time for governments and community leaders to take a stand against hate, he said.

Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, said the statistics reflect the experiences of community members, including racism and Islamophobia.

He said hate-motivated crimes are under-reported, and hate motivation is difficult to prove in some cases, including situations where it’s one person’s word against another.

Zeid said he would welcome community information sessions where police explain to people the definition of a hate crime and what to do if they are a victim.

In some communities or for some newcomers, there is a lack of trust in law enforcement, he noted.

“That has nothing to do with the police,” he said. “They’ve come from countries of conflict, and they just don’t know what to do when they’ve been a victim.”

“No community based on their racial identity, their ethnicity or faith should be discriminated against or be singled out for who they are, where they come from or what faith they profess.”

WPS uses Statistics Canada’s definition to determine hate crimes. That means the actual number of incidents may be higher because those that don’t meet StatCan’s criteria wouldn’t be cited as hate-motivated in the statistical report.

StatCan defines as a hate crime as an offence “targeting the integral or visible parts of a person’s or community’s identity.”

“A hate crime may be carried out against people or property and is motivated in whole or in part by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, language, sex, age, mental or physical disability, or any other similar factor,” StatCan says.

Police Chief Gene Bowers encouraged people to report hate-motivated crimes.

“If we didn’t have that information, we wouldn’t be able to address it,” he said.

A recent StatCan report said almost half of violent hate crimes reported to police agencies in Canada from 2022 to 2024 were cleared, meaning a suspect was charged or there was enough evidence to recommend or lay a charge.

Non-violent hate crimes had a clearance rate of 13.8 per cent. The figure was low because of a relatively high proportion of mischief-related hate crimes, which are more difficult for police to identify a suspect and solve, StatCan said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca