University presidents from across Canada met in Ottawa on Tuesday to establish a coordinated five-point action plan aimed at addressing antisemitism and safeguarding Jewish students, faculty, and staff on post-secondary campuses.
The meeting, convened by Universities Canada, followed the release of the federal Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences (CASE) report. Produced by the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute, the CASE report detailed a sharp escalation of antisemitism within Canadian higher education institutions.
The report documented how Jewish students faced severe campus-climate challenges, institutional betrayal, and targeted hostility, noting that Jewish Canadians accounted for 68 percent of reported religiously motivated hate crimes and 18.8 percent of overall reported hate crimes in 2024 despite comprising roughly one percent of the population.
Universities Canada President and CEO Gabriel Miller said the new framework addresses the findings head-on: "Universities have a clear responsibility to address antisemitism on their campuses, and our members are committed to continuing that work." Miller added, "Our five-point action plan will bring university leaders together, help institutions learn from one another and strengthen practical collaboration with governments and community partners."
The five-point action plan focuses on convening university leaders to address shared challenges and identify practical opportunities for action, identifying and sharing effective practices by connecting institutions with experienced peers, supporting institutional action by providing access to relevant expertise while letting individual campuses determine how to strengthen responses within their own legal and governance frameworks, strengthening national collaboration by working closely with Jewish students, faculty, community organizations, law enforcement, and government agencies, and advancing policy recommendations to the federal government.
University leaders working with federal partners to combat antisemitism
As part of this national coordination, university leaders are working with federal partners to include institutions in a comprehensive national response to antisemitism, strengthen the implementation and enforcement of protections against hate, intimidation, and harassment while respecting freedom of expression and lawful peaceful protest, support evidence-based education and prevention, and improve tracking, reporting, and data on antisemitism and hate.
Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, joined the presidential discussions to outline federal support. "All students deserve to feel safe and welcome on campus, regardless of their faith," Miller stated.
"As antisemitism surges in Canada, we are taking action to strengthen public safety, combat antisemitism, and ensure Jewish Canadians can be visibly, fully, and joyfully Jewish in public life. We look forward to working with universities to identify concrete steps to address antisemitism on university campuses and ensure Jewish students, faculty and staff feel safe, supported and able to fully participate in university life," he added.
Following the announcement, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Jewish Federations across Canada issued a joint statement welcoming the five-point action plan.
CASE finds campus antisemitism requires urgent action
The findings of the Government of Canada's CASE report make clear that hate and antisemitism on university campuses demand urgent action, the organizations stated.
The groups praised the initiative as an important step toward keeping campuses safe for everyone. "Today's announcement by Universities Canada of its five-point action plan is an important step toward ensuring our campuses are places where all Canadians - regardless of background - can learn, teach, work and conduct cutting-edge research without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence," the statement read.
The Jewish Federations and CIJA commended Gabriel Miller and the university presidents for demonstrating leadership and emphasizing institutional enforcement and accountability. "University leaders cannot resolve conflicts in the Middle East," the statement noted. "But they can uphold their own institutional policies, enforce standards of conduct and ensure campuses remain places where everyone is treated with dignity and respect."
The organizations also acknowledged the participation of Minister Marc Miller in supporting a coordinated approach between governments and post-secondary institutions, noting that the forthcoming release of the second part of the CASE report will provide further opportunities to advance the work.
"CIJA and Jewish Federations across the country stand ready to work with governments and university leaders to ensure these commitments translate into concrete, meaningful action," the statement concluded.
The Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA) told The Jerusalem Post that it "commends Gabriel Miller, President and CEO of Universities Canada, on his efforts to rally university leadership to improve the situation on campuses."
NECA said that "after 3 years of relentless and pervasive anti-Jewish hostility on Canadian campuses, addressing Jew hatred is now on the national agenda for universities," adding that "the five-point plan is a strong first step that we hope will lead to concrete action on campuses including the implementation of NECA’s recommendations."
NECA noted that it "recently joined the lead authors of the CASE study Jack Jedwab and Paul Holley from the Association of Canadian Studies, to present results of CASE I and NECA’s recommendations at a national forum convened by Universities Canada," where 70 universities sent representatives to develop a national strategy. Looking ahead to upcoming data, NECA added that "the government of Canada will release CASE II in November 2026," specifying that the study "will examine data from the general student population that supports the mounting evidence of the extent and depth of antisemitism and antizionism on Canadian campuses."
NECA stated to the Post that it "welcomes Universities Canada’s recognition that antisemitism should be part of EDI," pointing out that "it is well documented in Canada that Jewish identity and antisemitism are rarely incorporated in EDI policies or mandates" even though "despite being 1% of the population, Jews are the most targeted group, and yet most EDI policies ignore it."
NECA affirmed that it "welcomes any opportunity to provide assistance to university leaders to help address the problem."