The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada set a record for the third consecutive year in 2018, despite numbers in Alberta being on the decline, according to an annual B'nai Brith report.

The B'nai Brith audit recorded 2,041 incidents of anti-Semitism in 2018, an increase of 16.5 per cent from the year before.

In Alberta, the number of incidents was down from 206 to 160 during the same two-year period, a decrease of 22.3 per cent, the audit found.

"We're a very vulnerable community and we have to be diligent," said Abe Silverman, manager of public affairs for B'nai Brith in Alberta.

The incidents that targeted members of Canada's Jewish community included vandalism and violence. Examples listed in the audit include:

A group of teens shooting lit fireworks at Hasidic Jews in Boisbriand, Que.;

Two Saskatchewan elementary school students being harassed and beaten by their peers;

A group of Orthodox students in Toronto being assaulted on the streets;

A Winnipeg high school student being mocked for her "Jewish nose."

"It's a very troublesome trend but it's one that has now been happening for several years," Silverman said of the national numbers. "We're not quite sure where this is going but we have no reason to feel optimistic that that trend is going to be reduced or going to stop in any way."

The audit found online harassment was the most dominant form of anti-Semitism, with 80 per cent of incidents taking place on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and through e-mail.

"Social media has allowed the discourse to go all the way around the world in a nanosecond," said Sol Rolingher, a member of Edmonton's Jewish community who works closely with the local police hate crimes unit.

"This is a problem that's been around for the ages, and so it's not lost on me that there's something fundamentally wrong with the way we think about each other," Rolingher said. "And we've got to overcome that."

The audit showed a major increase in British Columbia, with 374 incidents reported in 2018, up from 165 incidents in 2017.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba (listed as the Prairies in the B'nai Brith data) saw an increase of 142.6 per cent, with 131 incidents reported in 2018, up from 54 in 2017.

The B'nai Brith organization said it has an eight-point plan to tackle anti-Semitism, which includes a plan to counter online hate.

The full B'nai Brith report can be viewed online at www.bnaibrith.ca/audit.