TDF has launched an independent investigation into Canada’s wave of unresolved attacks on churches and synagogues, amid concerns that authorities failed to properly investigate a potentially coordinated campaign.
TORONTO: The Democracy Fund (TDF) has launched an independent forensic investigation led by a certified fire investigator to conduct an expert analysis of the wave of arson attacks and vandalism against churches and synagogues that has swept Canada since 2021.
This marks the first known independent forensic review of Canada’s unprecedented wave of attacks on Christian and Jewish places of worship.
The investigator will work with an ATIP (access to information & privacy) specialist to retrieve approximately 100 investigation reports filed by fire officials regarding the church and synagogue attacks.
The expert will then examine, among other things, whether fires were investigated properly according to professional standards, whether the pattern of destruction indicates an organized or ideologically motivated campaign, and whether Canadian authorities responded according to international standards.
Findings from the investigation will be compiled into a public report, which may inform future legal action, public advocacy efforts, and formal demands for government accountability.
"Canadians have witnessed a sharp increase in church and synagogue fires and vandalism over the past decade. The overwhelming majority of these attacks are unresolved. Numbering in the hundreds and bearing clear hallmarks of targeted action, the response from the government and authorities has been almost nonexistent," said Mark Joseph, TDF Executive Director. “For years, Canadians have watched churches burn and synagogues come under attack while authorities offered little transparency, few answers, and almost no accountability. This investigation is designed to establish what happened, determine whether these incidents were properly investigated, and expose any systemic failures that allowed this crisis to persist."
The Scale of the Crisis:
Since May 2021, approximately 120 churches across Canada have been burned, vandalized, or desecrated. At least 44 were destroyed completely. The 2025 Macdonald-Laurier Institute report confirmed that arson against religious institutions more than doubled as a share of all Canadian arson nationally, from 0.38% in the 2011–2014 period to 0.73% in the 2021–2023 period. Annual incidents at religious institutions rose from an average of roughly 39 per year before 2021 to 90 in 2021, and remained at 74 in both 2022 and 2023. Across 238 documented incidents, law enforcement has laid charges in fewer than 4% of cases.
The Jewish community has faced a parallel assault. Synagogues in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, and Calgary have been repeatedly firebombed and vandalized, and, in March 2026, targeted by gunfire.
The announcement comes amid mounting concern over the continued absence of meaningful government transparency surrounding attacks on religious institutions. As part of its mandate, TDF is dedicated to defending the religious rights and civil liberties of Christians and Jews in Canada.
About The Democracy Fund:
Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education, and opposing religious discrimination. TDF promotes constitutional rights through litigation and public education, and supports an access-to-justice initiative for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed by government lockdowns and other public policy responses to the pandemic.