Hate crime is up across the country according to StatsCan and it appears Windsor and area is no different.
Statistics Canada found police-reported hate crimes increased 47% in 2017 compared to 2016.
Most of the hate crimes, such as graffiti and vandalism were targeting Muslim, Jewish and the Black population.
In the Windsor Metropolitan area, which includes Windsor, Lakeshore, Tecumseh, LaSalle and Amherstburg, there were 19 incidents in 2017, compared to 10 incidents in 2016 per 100,000 population.
"There is more work to be done with respect to teaching people about the benefits of multiculturalism, the benefits of immigration and the benefits of diversity," says Multicultural Council of Windsor-Essex Director of Programs and Development Fred Francis.
He believes the increase could be partially due to more people being educated to report the crime to police.
"One of the programs we run here at the Multicultural Council is workshops on cultural competency and diversity appreciation and we get into that," says Francis. "We discuss what is racism, what is bigotry, what is hate speech and what is a hate crime."
In 2017, police across the country reported 2,073 hate crimes, an increase of 664 from 2016.
The increases took place largely in Ontario and Quebec.