It’s time to end anti-Asian racism in Canada.
Half of Chinese Canadians say Canada-China political tensions have led to negative personal treatment. At least one-quarter of all South Asians say that they have faced discrimination or harassment over the past year. 46% of Filipinos / Southeast Asians describe police as racist or prejudiced*.
And nearly two in five Asian Canadians do not tell anyone about the racism they have experienced.
The Coalition Against Anti-Asian Racism Canada (CAAARC) is the first national, pan-Asian coalition in Canada to come together to address anti-Asian racism in Canada. CAAARC bridges Asian Canadian communities across the country, sharing knowledge, providing a platform to amplify existing work and advocate nationally on shared concerns.
Our priorities
- Advocating for policy reforms to eliminate anti-Asian racism in Canada
- Deepening relationships within and among Asian Canadian communities
- Supporting Asian Canadian communities to tell their stories & experiences
Our journey
Background
- In April 2021, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) was charged by the Government of Canada to create a national coalition to support Asian Canadian communities.
- The CRRF consulted with Asian Canadian groups across the country to better understand community-specific challenges and visions for the coalition.
- In December 2022, the Coalition Against Anti-Asian Racism Canada (CAAARC or “the Coalition”) was established, with support from the CRRF, to address current and historical forms of anti-Asian racism in Canada and its rise during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
- CAAARC is guided by an intergenerational Steering Committee whose two co-chairs and 12 members are community leaders with backgrounds and expertise in many sectors, and who live and work in seven different provinces and one territory. They represent diverse Asian Canadian populations and reflect an equitable gender and cultural balance.
- Following several virtual and one in-person Steering Committee meetings between December 2022 – March 2023, CAAARC has consolidated its strategic direction and work plan to work towards eliminating anti-Asian racism through education, research, policy advocacy and community-building.
Milestones
- Monthly News Digest: Every month, the Coalition connects individuals and communities who are invested in ending anti-Asian racism across Canada with a newsletter featuring important news, updates, events, initiatives and opportunities to end anti-Asian racism in Canada.
- Media Training: During Asian Heritage Month 2023, the CRRF partnered with Media Girlfriends, a podcast production company led by journalists of colour, to host a media training webinar for Asian Canadian community leaders.
- Asian-Canadian Representation: In collaboration with the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada, the CRRF hosted a webinar examining the lack of Asian representation in film in 2022.
- #BlockHate Campaign: The CRRF and YWCA Canada collaborated on a national social media campaign in 2022 to address concerns around the rise of hate speech and racism online, including video testimony from Asian Canadian women sharing their experiences of gendered anti-Asian and Islamophobic racism.
Moving forward
- Public advocacy: CAAARC is developing a research and advocacy agenda centred on public issues affecting Asian communities.
- Building capacity in community: CAAARC will leverage joint research with Angus Reid Institute to raise awareness of anti-Asian hate and racism in Canada, as well as hosting more media training webinars and educational workshops to build capacity within the Asian communities.
- Deepening relationships and alliances: CAAARC will convene spaces to connect different Asian communities, including youth and elders and communities from different regions. It will work with local, provincial, and regional organizations and leaders and build relationships and alliances with Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities to share knowledge and combat anti-Asian racism.
-
300%
increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020
-
70%
anti-Asian racism incidents reported by women
-
1 in 5
Asian Canadians experience anti-Asian racism
Meet the Coalition Co-Chairs
Teresa Woo-Paw
An active part of her community for 40 years, Teresa founded seven organizations including the Asian Heritage Foundation, the ACCT Foundation, the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary (Action Dignity) and the Calgary Chinese Community Services Association as well as served on over 30 committees and boards at local, provincial and national levels.
Manju Varma
Manju Varma, Ph.D. moved to Canada with her family at the age of two and grew up in Moncton, NB. She obtained her doctorate in anti-racist education from the Ontario Institute in Education/University of Toronto. For the past 30 years she has focused on issues around diversity and anti-racism in New Brunswick and has published both national and internationally on the topics of mental health, diversity in the workplace, inclusion, and anti-racist education.
Coalition Steering Committee members
Past campaigns
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#BlockHate campaign highlights the story of Linda Hoang during Asian Heritage Month
The latest instalment of the #BlockHate campaign features the story of Vietnamese Canadian Linda Hoang, an Alberta-based social media strategist, blogger, and co-founder of Stop Race Based Hate.
Learn more
*Data sources: 2023 Angus Reid Institute Survey and Statistics Canada.