The global outbreak of COVID-19 led to an alarming increase in assaults and discrimination against individuals of Asian descent in many countries, including Canada. This surge in racism affected mental health, interracial relationships, and the representation of Asians in a variety of ways. Anti-Asian Racism and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada is a rigorous, comprehensive exploration of a phenomenon that affects millions.

While similar surges in racial scapegoating have occurred during earlier global epidemics, the wave of anti-Asian racism prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly widespread and severe. The toxic “yellow peril” trope that originated in late-nineteenth-century public discourse was redeployed to defame Asians as an existential threat to the West. And even after the pandemic, Asian Canadians have continued to face COVID-19-related socio-economic and racial discrimination.

Contributors draw on historical analysis, empirical research, and geopolitical insights to examine not only the rise in anti-Asian racism but also the strategies Asian communities have used to defend themselves and build solidarity. This effort to document and interpret the systemic factors that have brought centuries-old racialization and racism once again to the fore is essential to supporting the goals of combatting racial injustice and building an equitable society.