Jewish Communities in Canada: History, Contributions and Standing Up to Antisemitism

Let's start with a question

Have you ever seen someone treated unfairly just because of who they are? How did it feel to watch?

Jewish people have lived in Canada for more than 250 years. They have built communities and made many contributions, while also facing antisemitism: hatred of Jewish people. This lesson tells that history.

Early Jewish communities

• Jewish merchants were living in Quebec by the 1760s, such as Aaron Hart in Trois-Rivières.
• In 1768, Montreal's Jewish community founded Shearith Israel, the first synagogue congregation in what is now Canada.
• In 1807, Ezekiel Hart was elected to the assembly of Lower Canada, but the assembly would not let him keep his seat because he was Jewish.
• In 1832, Lower Canada passed a law giving Jewish people the same political rights as other citizens. It was one of the first places in the British Empire to do so.

A growing community (1880s to 1914)

• Many Jewish families fled pogroms, violent attacks in the Russian Empire, and poverty in Eastern Europe.
• Tens of thousands came to Canada, especially to Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. Some started farm colonies on the Prairies.
• Many worked in clothing factories, as peddlers, or opened small shops. They built synagogues, schools, newspapers in Yiddish (a language spoken by many Eastern European Jews), and organisations to help newcomers.
• In Toronto, Kensington Market and the Spadina area became busy Jewish neighbourhoods.

Facing antisemitism (1920s to 1940s)

• Some universities, such as McGill in Montreal, set quotas limiting the number of Jewish students.
• Some beaches, clubs and resorts posted signs keeping Jewish people out. Some property deeds said homes could not be sold to Jewish people. An Ontario court ruled against such a rule in 1945.
• On August 16, 1933, at a baseball game at Christie Pits park in Toronto, some people displayed a swastika, the symbol of the Nazis. A large fight broke out between Jewish and Italian youth and their attackers.
• Because some hospitals limited Jewish doctors, the community opened the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal in 1934, open to patients of all backgrounds.

The Holocaust and Canada

From 1933, Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, persecuted Jewish people. During the Second World War, the Nazis and those who helped them murdered about six million Jewish people in Europe. This is called the Holocaust. The Nazis also murdered many others, including Roma people and people with disabilities.

Jewish families tried to escape, but many countries, including Canada, let very few in.

• From 1933 to 1945, Canada admitted only about 5 000 Jewish refugees. Historians say Canada's record was one of the worst among the countries that could have helped.
• In 1939, the ship MS St. Louis, carrying 907 Jewish refugees from Germany, was refused entry by Cuba, the United States and Canada. It had to return to Europe, and 254 of its passengers were later murdered in the Holocaust.
• On November 7, 2018, the Prime Minister apologised in the House of Commons for turning the St. Louis away.

After the war, tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors made new lives in Canada. Many spoke to students about their experiences, so that the world would never forget.

Contributions

Jewish Canadians have contributed in every part of Canadian life. A few examples:

• Law: Bora Laskin became the first Jewish judge on the Supreme Court of Canada (1970) and later Chief Justice. Rosalie Silberman Abella, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, was the first Jewish woman on the Supreme Court (2004).
• Arts: Leonard Cohen, from Montreal, became a world-famous poet and songwriter.
• Health and community: hospitals, community centres and charities founded by Jewish communities serve people of all backgrounds.
• Remembering: Holocaust museums in Montreal, Toronto and elsewhere teach people about the dangers of hate.

Jewish communities in Canada are diverse: they include families with roots in Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and many other places, and people who are religious and not religious. May is Canadian Jewish Heritage Month.

Antisemitism today

Antisemitism has not disappeared. Statistics Canada reports that, among hate crimes targeting a religion, those targeting Jewish people are the most common. Some Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres need security guards.

Impact on communities: antisemitism has limited where Jewish people could study, work and live, and still makes some people afraid to show their identity. It has also led Jewish communities to build their own institutions, to work for human rights for everyone, and to teach about the Holocaust.