Canada is facing a human trafficking ‘epidemic,’ says survivor

Human trafficking is on the rise with calls to a hotline reaching an all-time high. Adrian Ghobrial speaks with a survivor.

The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline is experiencing a record number of calls with one survivor sharing her belief that Canada is currently in the grips of a trafficking epidemic.

“In my day, they lured you through newspapers advertisements. Today, it’s all happening online,” shares sex trafficking survivor, Timea Nagy.

In 1998, Nagy was a 21-year-old living in poverty in Budapest, Hungary, when she came across a job opening in her local paper for a nanny in Toronto, Canada.

She thought it was her ticket to help support her family financially back home, but when she arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, she quickly learned this was no posting for a nanny.

“It was very clear in a very short period of time that the agency that hired me to be a nanny was an international human trafficking ring” says Nagy.

For the next three months, she worked 20 hours days, often given only one meal per day while performing sexual services and dancing at strip clubs across the Greater Toronto Area.

“In two weeks, I went from 125 pounds to 89 pounds. We weren’t allowed to talk to anybody… the brainwashing was pretty much everyday. A couple girls from our group went missing and the traffickers said don’t worry they’re not breathing anymore,” shares Nagy.

After three months, Nagy was able to escape with the help of a security guard and a DJ at a Toronto strip club who recognized the signs that she was being trafficked.

Nagy’s story isn’t an isolated incident.

The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline received just over 5,100 calls in 2024, an all-time high. A similar number is also expected by the end of this year.

Nagy’s not surprised. While she was lured from overseas, she says her recent advocacy work has uncovered thousands of cases of Canadians of all ages and backgrounds falling victim to human trafficking.

“Young boys, they can also get trafficked. We need to educate ourselves. It makes a big difference. I’m telling you knowledge is the key,” adds Nagy.

Individuals aren’t just being forced into the sex trade. The United Nations has called Canada’s temporary worker program a breeding ground for contemporary slavery.

“They’re using tactics like fear, intimidation, threats, sometimes physical violence and abuse, but they’re also doing things like withholding their ID and their papers, preventing them from accessing services, monitoring and supervising them,” says the executive director at the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, Julia Drydyk.

Since the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline began six years ago, it has experienced a 300 per cent increase in labour-related human trafficking cases.

“We need every province in Canada to adopt an anti-human trafficking strategy that would be in perpetuity until we’re successful ending all forms of human trafficking in Canada,” shares Drydyk.

Since she broke free, Nagy has dedicated her life to educating others so no one else has to walk in her shoes.

Sharing a message of hope, Nagy tells CTV News that if someone is reading this and needs help, “please know there are thousands of people like me across Canada who’ve dedicated themselves to help you get out of the situation you’re in.”

If you believe you may be a victim of human trafficking or if you’re concerned about the well-being of someone you know, please call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline [phone]) or any victim services centre in your community.

With files from CTV News’ Luca Caruso-Moro