Church & Synagogue Arson Investigation

Fire Marshal Glenn Baxter leads the first independent forensic review of the attacks on Canada's places of worship since 2021.

Canada’s churches are burning. We hired a fire investigator to find out why.

Since May 2021, about 120 churches across Canada have been burned, vandalized or desecrated, and at least 44 were destroyed completely. Synagogues in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax and Calgary have been firebombed and vandalized, and in March 2026 three in the Toronto area were hit by gunfire. Of 238 documented incidents, charges have been laid in fewer than 4%.

The Democracy Fund has launched the first known independent forensic review of these attacks. It is led by Glenn Baxter, a serving Fire Marshal and certified fire and explosion investigator who has carried out more than 350 origin-and-cause investigations. Working with an access-to-information specialist, Glenn will get roughly 100 official fire investigation reports. He’ll assess whether each fire was investigated to professional standards and whether the pattern points to an organized or ideologically motivated campaign. His findings will be published in a public report.

TDF receives no government funding, so this investigation is paid for entirely by Canadians who want answers. Donations of $20 or more receive a charitable tax receipt.

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