Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested Thursday immigrants to the province were responsible for shooting at a Jewish girls’ elementary school in North York last weekend, despite police saying they have little information on the suspects.
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at an unrelated announcement in Toronto, both leaders condemned the shooting at Bais Chaya Mushka school in the early morning hours Saturday.
Asked by a reporter about how their governments are defending Jewish communities amid a reported rise in antisemitic hate crimes, Ford implied immigrants were behind the shooting.
“It does not matter what race, what creed, what religion you are from, I would say the exact same thing if it was another community as well. Enough is enough. You are bringing problems from everywhere else in the world, bringing it to Ontario and going after other Canadians,” he said.
“That’s unacceptable. I have an idea: before you plan on moving to Canada, do not come if you’re going to terrorize neighbourhoods like this. It’s simple as that. You want to be a resident of Ontario? You get along with everyone,” Ford continued.
He went on to say diversity is Ontario’s “number one selling point around the world” and people from 110 different nationalities have settled here.
“And guess what? Ninety-nine per cent of the people get along. There are wars going on all around the world but we still get along,” he said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Thursday denounced violence targeting religious institutions, including recent incidents targeting Jewish schools. ‘Enough is enough,’ said Ford, who then criticized some immigrants, saying some people are ‘bringing your problems from everywhere else in the world’ to Ontario.
Toronto police’s guns and gangs task force and hate crime unit are investigating the shooting. Investigators, however, have not publicly identified any suspects.
CBC Toronto reached out to Ford’s office to ask if the premier had any further information about the shooting or whether he would like to clarify his comments, and received a brief email response.
“The premier was clear, if you are in Ontario, we have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour. These actions do not reflect Canadian values,” said Caitlin Clark, Ford’s director of communications.
In a statement Thursday, Toronto police said the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.
“Regarding immigration status, this is not information that we track nor do we disclose the immigration status of suspects or victims,” a spokesperson said.
Earlier this week, police said security video showed that around 4:50 a.m. on Saturday, a dark-coloured vehicle pulled up in front of the school and two suspects opened fire.
Investigators have released some of that footage:
A bullet hole was found in a window at the school, and other “evidence of gunfire” was also located, police said. No one was inside the school at the time.
The incident drew strong condemnation from politicians and community leaders. A support rally was held outside the school Monday.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said she was “appalled by the premier’s racist remarks” and urged him to apologize.
“Fighting hate with hate has never worked. Fighting antisemitism with xenophobia won’t keep communities safe,” she said.
Green party Leader Mike Schreiner called Ford’s comments dangerous.
“He’s inflaming anti-immigrant sentiment without any proof to back up the claims he’s making today,” Schreiner said.
“That is completely irresponsible. It’s beneath the dignity of a premier, and I believe the premier should apologize.”
The most recent statistics from Toronto police, released in March, showed the city has seen a sharp rise in reported hate crimes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. At the time, Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw said 56 per cent of all reported hate crimes in 2024 were antisemtic in nature.