B.C. funds more policing as hate crimes rose by 23 per cent between 2022 to 2023

By Canadian Press on July 4, 2025.

Hate aimed at religion, sexual orientation and race or ethnicity has jumped in British Columbia, setting off a funding increase for the RCMP’s hate crimes unit.

Public Safety Minister Garry Begg announced an additional $734,000 for the RCMP’s anti-hate crime unit in the province as police-reported hate crimes rose by an average of 23 per cent from 2022 to 2023.

Chief Supt. Elija Rain in charge of the provincial RCMP major crime section says the additional funding marks a “significant expansion” to combat hate-related crimes, which he says are often “fuelled by conflict and unrest in other parts of the world.”

Begg says hate crimes related to religion rose by 51 per cent during the same period, while crimes related to sexual orientation were up by 43 per cent.

The extra money for the hate crimes unit — the only one of its kind in Canada — will pay for six more officers and an intelligence analyst for a year, but Begg says the funding will grow as the need increases.

The government says the funding will also strengthen investigations through the criminal-justice process, ensuring police are equipped with required evidence for prosecutors, and that victims of the crimes are supported through the court process.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2025.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press