Summary

There are two different data sources used to measure the incidence and characteristics of hate-motivated crime in Canada. The UCR Survey reflects the amount of crime that is reported to, substantiated by, and deemed by police to be motivated by hatred toward a specific group. The GSS gathers self-reported victimization data from Canadians who have been victimized by a crime and asking them if they believe the incident had been motivated by hate.

The results from each of these surveys show many commonalities, but also some major differences. Both surveys report that the majority of hate crimes are motivated by race/ethnicity and that the highest rates of victimization are against young people. The most notable difference between the police-reported data and the victimization data pertains to the volume of offences, with the number of incidents substantially higher when self-reported by victims. Both data sources; however, indicate that hate-motivated crime, as a proportion of overall crime, is relatively low.