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Or sign-in if you have an account.Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks against antisemitism in front of members of the Jewish community and law enforcement leaders at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto on Monday, June 1, 2026. Photo by Peter Power/PostmediaLast week, Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed a gathering of Jews at a Toronto synagogue. As the rabbi of Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) synagogue that was shot up by thugs in March, I too received an invitation. As it happened, I was spared the genuine dilemma of whether to attend a speech about antisemitism delivered by a leader who has — knowingly or not — contributed to that very hatred. At that same hour, I was officiating at the wedding of two wonderful young people from our congregation. I was doubly pleased to be part of a joyous occasion that is the real cure for the diaspora Jewry’s challenges.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorTo his credit, the prime minister correctly identified hatred as a growing problem and affirmed the necessity of pluralism and tolerance. He also acknowledged that Canada has failed its Jewish community.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBut as many analysts and editorialists have already noted, his proposed remedies — new legislation, increased security grants and an anti-racism council — fall far short.If you cannot name radical Islamism as a primary source of the problem, and if you cannot acknowledge that anti-Zionist rhetoric and policy are actively fanning the flames of Jew-hatred, then your solutions, however well-intentioned, will inevitably miss their mark.As a theologian and member of the clergy, I found something else in Mr. Carney’s remarks particularly concerning — something I suspect most listeners passed over, but which to people of faith sounded like a dog whistle.Mr. Carney declared that Canada is a secular country, uncommitted to any particular religious values: “Our secularism is open. The state takes no side in the matters of belief, and the institutions of public life are not captured by any faith or identity.” It is this secular foundation, he argued, that obliges Canada to tolerate all religions and creeds.Therein lies my concern. A nation grounded in secularism is founded not upon a creed, but upon the absence of one. Nature abhors a vacuum. It is exceedingly difficult to sustain tolerance for all beliefs when there is no overarching value beyond tolerance itself.Notably absent from Mr. Carney’s address was the word “God.” It is belief in the God of the Bible — not secularism — that has imbued western civilization with the moral resolve to care for the poor, pursue justice and make room for every voice within a polity. When God is absent from a nation’s mission statement, the barriers staving off the jackals at the gate have not been sufficiently fortified.Consider that Canada’s own Constitution opens with the words: “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” This language was enshrined in the Constitution Act, 1982 under then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.Canada’s founders broadly believed that rights derive from God, that government is constrained by a higher moral law and that religious faith nourishes public virtue. While belief in God is not a legal criterion for legislation, excising God entirely from the public square is both a tragic error and a betrayal of the values upon which this country was built.Our national anthem carries the prayer, “God keep our land glorious and free.” In an era when anthem lyrics are rewritten to satisfy shifting political fashions, one wonders whether even this line is now at risk.If Canada is to sustain a genuine culture of tolerance, God must return to our public conversation — not the God of any one people or tradition, but a recognition that without a higher power animating our values of morality and altruism, Canada’s future forbodes dark days ahead.A course correction in our national leadership would be most welcome. And assuming our leaders will accept the blessing, may God bless Canada.National PostDaniel Korobkin is the senior rabbi of Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (the BAYT). 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