In a statement released Thursday, The Democracy Fund said it has retained a certified fire investigator and an access-to-information specialist to conduct what it describes as the first known independent forensic review of the attacks on Christian and Jewish places of worship in Canada.

According to TDF, the investigation will examine approximately 100 fire investigation reports obtained through access-to-information requests to determine whether authorities properly investigated the incidents, whether the attacks show signs of coordination or ideological motivation, and whether Canadian officials followed accepted international investigative standards.

The findings will eventually be compiled into a public report that could form the basis for future legal action or public accountability efforts.

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“Canadians have witnessed a sharp increase in church and synagogue fires and vandalism over the past decade,” said Mark Joseph in the release.

“The overwhelming majority of these attacks are unresolved. Numbering in the hundreds and bearing clear hallmarks of targeted action, the response from the government and authorities has been almost non-existent.”

TDF cited figures from a 2025 report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute showing attacks on religious institutions surged after 2021.

According to the report, approximately 120 churches across Canada have been burned, vandalized, or desecrated since May 2021, with at least 44 completely destroyed. Arsons targeting religious institutions more than doubled as a percentage of all arsons nationwide between 2011–2014 and 2021–2023.

The report also found that while annual attacks on religious institutions averaged roughly 39 incidents per year before 2021, that number jumped to 90 in 2021 and remained elevated afterward. Across 238 documented incidents, charges were reportedly laid in fewer than four per cent of cases.

TDF also pointed to repeated attacks targeting synagogues in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, and Calgary, including incidents involving firebombings, vandalism, and gunfire earlier this year.