The increase in arson attacks against religious institutions in 2021 was likely due to announcements around potential unmarked burials at former residential school sites, according to a new report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI).
The report, released April 24, represents the first empirical investigation of the spike in arson attacks on religious institutions in Canada since 2021. Author economist Edgardo Sepulveda said statistical analysis of the incidents found the increase in arson attacks was “not religiously motivated.”
