Political tensions ‘sustain’ hate, racism towards Asian Canadians after surge of discrimination from COVID-19
By Natasha O’Neill/CTVNews.ca Writer
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Toronto, Ontario (CTV Network) — Asian Canadians are reporting continued mistreatment and harassment in Canada mainly due to political tensions and COVID-19, a new poll shows.
The survey, released July 12, polled 884 Asian Canadians from different backgrounds including Chinese and other East Asian, Filipino and Southeast Asian and South Asian and 1,625 other Canadians not of those backgrounds.
It was completed by the Angus Reid Institute and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and shows many are facing ongoing abuse, harassment and poor treatment in 2023.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Asian Canadians faced a surge in hate and discrimination, but the data shows as those tensions subside other political factors sustain the mistreatment.
Over several years Canada has faced a rocky relationship with China in particular, including trade disputes, allegations of election interference, the detaining of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and Canada’s detainment of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou.
“A consequence of this appears to be poor treatment of Asian Canadians in Canada,” the report states.
“One-in-five Chinese and East Asian Canadians say they have regularly faced negative reactions from other Canadians as a result of the political tensions between the Canadian and Chinese governments.”
The data shows about 20 per cent say harassment has happened “repeatedly.”
MISTREATMENT RISING IN 2023 Angus Reid completed a separate poll of a similar nature in 2021 and comparing that to 2023 showcases negative treatment of Asian Canadians is increasing, specifically for Chinese Canadians.
In 2021 Chinese Canadian respondents said they face negative reactions from other Canadians all the time (four per cent) or often (11 per cent). In 2023, these categories increased by three and one percentage points each.
Chinese Canadians are reporting in 2023 more name calling and insults, personal threats or intimidation, instances of friends or colleagues avoiding contact with them, and being physically attacked by strangers compared to 2021.
Of all Asian Canadians that responded in 2023, South Asians (28 per cent) reported a higher level of abuse or discrimination.
In the past year about 22 per cent of Chinese and other east Asian Canadians have seen offensive media, graffiti, propaganda or jokes.
South Asian Canadians reported being treated with less respect and fearing for the safety of their friends and family the most over the past year.
IS IT GETTING BETTER OR WORSE? When specifically asked if discrimination and racism are getting better or worse, more Asian Canadians agreed it was worse in the past year (over 2022 and 2023).
About 42 per cent of the general population said racism has “stayed the same” whereas 46 per cent of Asian Canadians said it was “getting worse.”
Despite Asian Canadians agreeing more needs to be done about discrimination in Canada, the general population believes the opposite, the poll says.
When asked “how much of a problem do you consider racism, and discrimination against Asians to be today in Canada overall?” about 45 per cent of the general population said it was a problem “among others here” in 2023.
This is a decrease in priority from 48 per cent in 2021.
For Asian Canadians the problem has shifted, showing 56 per cent in 2023 — compared to 53 per cent in 2021 — believe Asian hate in Canada is a “problem among others here.”
RACISM EXISTS EVERYWHERE While many Canadians do believe Asian hate is a problem in Canada, they believe it’s less so a problem within their own community.
In 2023 about 26 per cent said racism against Asians in their community was an issue, in 2021 this was 30 per cent.
But Asian Canadians responded in 2023 and 2021 (33 per cent) both saying it continued to be an issue in their communities.
“Regions with higher levels of Asian Canadian representation (Ontario and British Columbia) are more likely to voice concerns when it comes to discrimination in their own province,” the report says.
About half (51 per cent) of all respondents in B.C. said racism is a problem in the province, followed by 41 per cent in Quebec and 39 per cent in Ontario.
About 40 per cent of people in Manitoba said it was a minor problem.
When it comes to action against hate, the majority of Asian Canadians do not report the experience to the police.
About 39 per cent do not tell anyone about a negative experience, while 31 per cent mention it to someone around them.
This corresponds to how Asian Canadians feel about the experiences, with 38 per cent saying the situation “stays” with them. This is higher for younger Asian Canadians, with 40 per cent saying an experience is upsetting and stays with them.
Although racism and discrimination continue to impact Asian Canadians, and other racialized minorities, overall Canadians do see the value in a diverse population.
“More than four-in-five (86 per cent) say that Canada’s multicultural population represents a strength rather than a weakness,” the report reads.
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Methodology: The general population sample, Asian Canadian sample, and Chinese only sample are all weighted to census demographics. Chinese and Other East Asian (combined), South Asian, and Southeast Asian samples are distributed close to evenly across age, gender, and other demographics, but not weighted to census.
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