B.C. residents feel hate crimes up since start of pandemic more than any other province: StatsCan

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — British Columbians are most likely to perceive an increase in hate crimes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to all other Canadians, according to a new survey.

Conducted online by Statistics Canada, the crowdsourced survey found 15 per cent of B.C. residents feel that way, in particular hate crimes targeting Asian populations — a rate double the proportion of the next highest provinces.

In both Alberta and Onatrio, seven per cent of respondent felt the same, as did eight per cent of those living in urban areas and five per cent of rural participants.

Men (eight per cent) were somewhat more likely than women (six per cent) to say that they feel that harassment or attacks on the basis of race, ethnicity, or skin colour had increased since the start of the pandemic.

Non-binary participants (22 per cent) were more likely than either men or women to perceive an increase.

Younger participants, those aged 15 to 34, were most likely to report that harassment or attacks on the basis of race, ethnicity, or skin colour have increased in their neighbourhood since the start of the pandemic, at about 10 per cent.

The proportion fell consistently with age, to four per cent among those 65 and older.

Some police services in Canada — including Vancouver — have reported an increase in hate crimes since the start of the pandemic, specifically those targeting Asian populations.

RELATED: Anti-Asian hate crimes on the rise in Vancouver; police say increase is ‘disturbing’

Almost one in five (18 per cent) of visible minority participants felt that race-based incidents had increased since the start of the pandemic, compared with six per cent of non-visible minorities.

Nearly a third of Chinese participants stated that there had been an increase, the highest level of any group.

Perception of safety is an internationally recognized indicator of a nation’s well-being, says the survey.

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Canadians reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their personal safety from crime.”

From May 12 to May 25, more than 43,000 Canadians participated in the online crowdsourcing survey, which is unlike others by StatsCan as data are not collected using a probability-based sampling.

Participants in British Columbia (24 per cent) were also the most likely to feel that crime in their neighbourhood had increased since the start of the pandemic, ahead of Alberta (15 per cent), while the national average was 11 per cent.

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