Canada's oldest surviving synagogue was the target of vandalism this weekend, where an antisemitic message was scrawled on a column at the building's front entrance.

An investigation is now underway after police were called to the Congregation Emanu-el Synagogue in Victoria, British Columbia on Saturday evening.

A picture of the message was shared to social media by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, with CEO Ezra Shanken telling CTV News the synagogue is “progressive” and has “been vocally helping to try to bring the care the Palestinians deserve.”

Given the synagogue's efforts, Shanken said the vandalism sends the message that “there’s nothing that (Jews) can do that makes us not evil.”

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The incident was a “wakeup call that antisemitism is a Canadian problem and needs to be dealt with as any other form of hate against any individual group,” the Jewish Federation CEO said.

Premier David Eby condemned the vandalism in a post on social media, writing “Antisemitism has no place in our communities – not now, not ever.”

Victoria-Swan Lake NDP MLA Nina Krieger also decried the incident and noted the province is expanding its Hate Crimes Unit “to recognize and investigate hate-motivated crimes and bring charges against perpetrators.” 

The Congregation Emanu-el Synagogue, which was first built in 1863, is a national historic site.

The incident remains under investigation, but Victoria police have shared no further details.