Ashwin Annamalai, a Canadian citizen of Indian origin, has voiced his concern over a worrying increase in hate crimes targeting the Indian community in Canada. His statement comes at a time of heightened diplomatic strain between Canada and India.

In a recent video posted on X, Annamalai shared his encounter with a racist individual who mistook him for an Indian national and launched into a tirade, demanding that he "go back" to his country of origin.

Annamalai detailed the incident, explaining that while he was on a walk in the Erb/Avondale area of Waterloo, Ontario, a woman aggressively confronted him, flipping him off and making racist remarks. “A random woman gave me the finger and spewed hate while I was out for a walk. She wrongly assumed I am Indian and I must leave immediately,” Annamalai said in his video post. He expressed concern that the previously welcoming Kitchener-Waterloo community had recently witnessed a sharp increase in racial hostility toward people of colour.

Confrontation with the racist woman

In the video he shared, Annamalai, who came to Canada in 2018 as an international student and later became a citizen, politely challenged the woman’s remarks. Despite repeatedly asserting that he is Canadian, the woman persisted in her offensive comments, accusing him of not being truly Canadian. “You’re not Canadian. I’m being aggressive to you because too many Indians are in Canada, and I want you to go back,” the woman told him. 

Annamalai then switched to speaking French, one of Canada’s official languages, in response to her accusation that he couldn’t speak English. This, however, did not de-escalate the situation, as the woman continued her racist rant, telling him to "go back to India" and hurling more profanities before walking away.

A disturbing pattern

Annamalai says that such incidents have been occurring more frequently this year, suggesting that racism has become more blatant and aggressive. Annamalai pointed to this in a comment thread, sharing a link to a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) article and wrote, “This isn’t an isolated incident. Such encounters have been happening regularly since the beginning of the year, and people seem to be getting more emboldened.” 

His social media post has sparked both support and backlash, with some online commenters echoing the woman’s sentiments, highlighting the ongoing issue of anti-immigrant bias in certain parts of the community. Annamalai’s experience also draws attention to the broader climate of discrimination in Canada, which has worsened in the wake of diplomatic tensions between India and Canada.

The incident coincides with the recent release of data from Statistics Canada, which revealed that the Waterloo region now has the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes in the country.