Can members of a group sue for defamation if a statement targets the group generally in Ontario?

Generally, an individual member of a group can sue for defamation over a statement aimed at the group as a whole only where the group is small enough, or the statement specific enough, that a reasonable person would understand it as referring to that individual member personally, rather than only to the group in the abstract. A statement about a very large, general group, for example a broad claim about an entire profession, typically does not give any single member of that enormous group a viable individual claim, because no reasonable person would understand the statement as being specifically about that particular person.

As the group in question gets smaller and more identifiable, or if the statement singles out characteristics that point toward particular members of it, the case for an individual claim gets meaningfully stronger. This is a fact-specific assessment focused on whether a reasonable person receiving the statement would actually connect it to the specific individual bringing the claim, rather than simply whether that person happens to belong to the group being discussed in general terms.