Policy

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Research briefs

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Short briefs for the person with a meeting in an hour, an article due today, or who just wants a quick snapshot without wading through pages of research.

Policy brief · November 2026

Equal Protection on Campus: Muslim, Arab and Palestinian Members at the University of Toronto

Prepared by MCRO from Over-Policed, Under-Protected, the Final Report and Recommendations of the University of Toronto’s Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Discrimination Working Group (November 2026; 175 pages). This brief reports the working group’s findings and recommendations and adds no MCRO recommendations.

Key finding

The working group found “a general pattern of over-policing and under-protecting speech, research, and advocacy by or on Muslims, Arabs, and especially Palestinians.”

85consultations with students, staff, faculty, librarians and administrators
525survey responses from students, staff, faculty and librarians
57recommendations to the University, under 11 headings

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Briefing note · November 2026

U of T’s commitments vs. the MAP DWG’s 57 recommendations

Comparing “Our Commitment to Address Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Discrimination at the University of Toronto” (Nov. 12, 2026) with the Working Group’s recommendations

Bottom line

U of T’s commitments touch roughly 14 of the 57 recommendations, almost always in a weaker form. Only one is fully delivered as written: the Palestine library research guide (Rec 53a). About 43 recommendations get no corresponding commitment at all.

14 of 57recommendations touched by U of T’s commitments, almost always in a weaker form
1recommendation fully delivered as written
About 43recommendations with no corresponding commitment

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Policy brief

Working Together: A Guide to Ending Islamophobia at Work

Prepared by MCRO from the Survey of Muslims in Canada (SMiC, 2026), a national survey of 903 Muslims and 1,072 non-Muslims, and Working While Muslim (WWM, 2026), which combines 2021 Census data with a survey of 423 Muslims aged 18–69 in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). This brief reports the studies’ findings and adds no MCRO recommendations.

Key findings

On nearly every item measured, Muslims in Canada are more likely than other Canadians to report discrimination at work or school. In the GTHA, only 16% of reported cases of workplace discrimination against Muslims were dealt with completely.

16%of reported incidents of workplace discrimination against Muslims in the GTHA were dealt with completely
12%of Muslims across Canada who faced discrimination at work or school reported it
43%of those who reported it say nothing was done

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Research brief · Restoring Belonging (2026) · Islamophobia, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism in Canada

Restoring Belonging: Ending Islamophobia, Anti-Arab and Anti-Palestinian Racism

Prepared by MCRO from Combatting Hate (Senate Human Rights Committee, 2023); Islamophobia on the Rise (House of Commons Justice Committee, 2024); Documenting the “Palestine Exception” (Islamophobia Research Hub, York University, 2025); and The Survey of Muslims in Canada (Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Toronto, 2026).

Key message

Muslims in Canada are deeply invested in the country, yet their sense of belonging is eroding under hate, systemic bias and the silencing of their voices.

84%of first-generation Muslim immigrants would choose Canada again
48%say their sense of belonging weakened since October 7, 2023, compared with 24% of non-Muslims
44%say it has become harder to be Muslim in Canada in recent years

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Policy brief

Safe to Learn, Free to Belong: Protecting Muslim Students in Schools and on Campus

Prepared by MCRO from five reports and surveys published 2023–2026.

Key message

“This place may tolerate you, but it is not organized with your dignity and safety in mind.”

Muslim Student Voices

44%of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism cases reported to the National Council of Canadian Muslims since October 2023 happened in education
Age 10the youngest age at which students said online harassment began
42%of Muslims often hold back what they say, for fear of how people will react

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Research brief · Muslim Artists Live Here · Muslims in Canada’s cultural industries

Muslim Artists Live Here: Who Gets Funded, Seen and Paid

Based on research by Radiyah Chowdhury for the Inspirit Foundation’s Narrative Change Lab, with 2021 Census data compiled by Kelly Hill of Hill Strategies Research.

Key message

Muslim artists are younger, more often racialized and more often immigrants than other Canadian artists, yet they are underrepresented, underpaid and largely invisible to the funders who could support them.

89%are racialized, compared with 19% of all Canadian artists
19% lessis what Muslim artists earn, compared with other artists
2%of Canada’s 202,900 artists are Muslim, though Muslims are about 4% of its workers

Read briefPDF · 3 pages · 125 KBDownload