Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Monday that Christians and their places of worship are being targeted and, if elected, he will crack down on religion-based hate through tougher sanctions for crimes like arson.

Speaking to reporters at an announcement on food inflation, Poilievre said he has watched with alarm at the "terrible" spate of church burnings, incidents he described as "terrorist attacks" directed at Christians.

"One hundred churches have been burned," Poilievre said. "Christians may be the number 1 group that are victims of hate-based violence. But, of course, it's not politically correct to say that."

According to the most recent Statistics Canada data , the majority of hate crimes targeting a religion reported by police in 2023 were directed at Jews (70 per cent)

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