AI Generated Summary
- Gurinder, a businessman who moved to Canada 20 years ago, said that while he hasn’t faced outright discrimination, he often notices sarcastic remarks and mocking expressions directed at Indian workers in fast-food restaurants.
- Ashwin Annamalai, a Canadian of Indian origin, filmed a racially charged encounter in Waterloo last October where a woman hurled xenophobic slurs at him.
- If left unchecked, this digital hate risks spilling further into real life, eroding trust between communities in a country where nearly one in four residents is an immigrant.
Canada, often celebrated as a multicultural country, is witnessing an unsettling surge in hate speech directed at its South Asian, particularly Indian, community. What began as subtle murmurs of resentment has now transformed into a tidal wave of online vitriol, public humiliation, and racial targeting—threatening the very social fabric the country prides itself on.
The latest flashpoint? A viral video on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing Tim Hortons for declining service quality, which many commenters blamed on its largely Indian workforce. Some posts went as far as calling the popular coffee chain “Red Turban Coffee” and comparing it to the Taj Mahal, with hateful remarks about workers’ body odour. The video amassed more than 167,000 views and over 1,300 retweets, amplifying derogatory stereotypes and furthering an anti-immigrant narrative.
A Disturbing Trend of Online Hate
This is not an isolated incident. According to data compiled from social media, between May 2023 and April 2025, over 26,600 posts on X carried offensive slurs targeting South Asians in Canada—a shocking 1,350 per cent increase compared to the previous year. A significant number of these posts echo the far-right “Great Replacement Theory,” which falsely suggests that immigrants are “replacing” white Canadians.
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become breeding grounds for such hate. In one instance, a fake TikTok video from December 2024 falsely accused Indian immigrants of defecating on a Wasaga Beach. A racist cartoon of a turbaned Sikh with the caption “poop and scoop” soon followed, further spreading derogatory stereotypes.
Hate crimes have also risen sharply. Police-reported data shows hate crimes against South Asians surged 143 per cent from 2019 to 2022, jumping over 200 per cent by 2023. Waterloo, Ontario, an academic hub, recorded the highest rate of hate crimes in 2024, underscoring how even progressive communities are not immune to these tensions.
Real People, Real Pain
For many immigrants, these numbers translate into daily microaggressions and public humiliation. Gurinder, a businessman who moved to Canada 20 years ago, said that while he hasn’t faced outright discrimination, he often notices sarcastic remarks and mocking expressions directed at Indian workers in fast-food restaurants.
Raman, another immigrant, recalled being told to “go back to your country” by teenagers while walking in a park. “Ironically, they looked like children of immigrants themselves,” he said, highlighting how anti-immigrant sentiments are seeping even into younger generations.
Ashwin Annamalai, a Canadian of Indian origin, filmed a racially charged encounter in Waterloo last October where a woman hurled xenophobic slurs at him. The video garnered over a million views, but for Ashwin, it was a painful reminder of how normalized such interactions have become.
Economic Tensions Fueling Hate
Experts attribute this growing hostility to Canada’s worsening housing crisis, high unemployment rates, and rising living costs. With far-right narratives framing immigrants as “job stealers” and “overburdening the system,” Indian international students and temporary workers are increasingly being scapegoated.
Political decisions—such as limiting international student permits and lowering immigration targets—have unintentionally legitimized such biases, feeding into the perception that newcomers are to blame for economic woes.
The Urgent Need for Action
The unregulated nature of social media has only made things worse. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK-based think tank, reported over 1.2 million engagements with anti-South Asian slurs in just March and April this year.
If left unchecked, this digital hate risks spilling further into real life, eroding trust between communities in a country where nearly one in four residents is an immigrant.
Canada must act decisively. Policymakers, tech companies, and community leaders need to collaborate to curb online hate, promote fact-checking, and strengthen multicultural awareness.
As Gurinder aptly put it, “Canada was supposed to be the land of inclusion. If we don’t act now, we risk losing the very identity we are proud of.”
