Video goes viral as white man screams anti-India, racist abuse at Indian worker in Canada

The video, shared on X, by a handle called Economic Woes, shows a young white male screaming racist abuse at a worker at a McDonald’s franchise in Oakville. Following an altercation with a female, who is recording the video, he shouts, “Go back to your f****** country, you s******-a***** Indian.”

After she confronts him, he comes closer to her and repeats abuse.

While the video was condemned by several persons on social media, it also attracted praise from some, among whom, one posted, “Canadians are really getting fed up with the invasion. Wow.”

The incident occurred on October 26. However, there was no release from the local Halton Police on whether any action was taken with regard to the episode.

This incident occurred as anti-immigration sentiment, bordering on xenophobia, continues to rise in Canada, a country once renowned for welcoming newcomers.

Earlier this month, a lawmaker in Ontario was subject to abuse. In a post on X on Sunday, Hardeep Grewal, member of Ontario’s provincial parliament or MPP (equivalent of an MLA), said, “Today in downtown Muskoka, while sharing ice cream with my family, two strangers decided to share their hate instead. One yelled, “Hey turban head, go home,” before speeding off. Another, walking by, said, “You all should die.” In that moment, I was reminded that the fight against hate is far from over.”

Muskoka is a scenic township in central Ontario. But what Grewal faced was ugly, as he said, “It is not the first time this has happened, but today I feel compelled to speak out about how exhausting and painful it is.”

At the end of September, residents of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) town of Mississauga witnessed graffiti that was spraypainted at a prominent location, next to a children’s park. It read, “Indian rats” and is part of a trend of the targeting of the community, the most visible and largest cohort among new immigrants.

The worrying trend has led to Peel Regional Police (PRP), which has large parts of the Greater Toronto Area under its jurisdiction, to announce the formation of a centralised Hate Crime Unit.

Among its first arrests was the person responsible for the graffiti, 29-year-old Freda Looker-Rilloraza.

Such xenophobic, coupled with extreme right groups calling for remigration, has burgeoned in Canada over the past three years amid the impact of the surge in immigration under then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Among the most immigrant-friendly Western nations prior to that, opinion about newcomers has changed in Canada as economic pain increases coupled with the influence of measures against illegal and legal immigrants taken by the Administration of US President Donald Trump.

A recent survey conducted by the polling firm Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies found that 60% of respondents felt the country did not need any new immigrants.