Outgoing antisemitism envoy calls out business, religious leaders for lack of action

OTTAWA — Ottawa’s outgoing envoy for tackling antisemitism is accusing Canada’s business sector and civil society of failing to call out a rising tide of hate against Jews and other minorities.

In an extensive interview with The Canadian Jewish News, Deborah Lyons also says she could not get a meeting with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during her nearly two-year term.

She says Canadian society faces a growing gulf over violence in the Middle East and Canadians are “listening and hearing on different frequencies” instead of trying to find common ground against hate.

Lyons says she lacked the energy at times to bridge that gap and reveals that both her and Canada’s Islamophobia envoy faced pushback from their own constituencies when they worked together.

She says Canadian society is “weakening” as business and religious leaders avoid calling out the rise in hate crimes, and as multiple levels of government fail to adequately co-ordinate their responses.

Lyons says she is leaving her job three months early not for health reasons, but rather to restore “a little bit of the joy back into life.”

The Canadian Press has asked Lyons for an interview and Poilievre’s office for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2025.