Jewish Heritage Month

What is Canadian Jewish Heritage Month?

In 2018, the Canadian government established May as Canadian Jewish Heritage Month. Canada is home to the fourth largest Jewish community in the world [i]. Canadian Jewish Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate Jewish communities and their many historical and contemporary contributions to Canadian society. Additionally, this month is an opportunity to reflect and act on countering antisemitism.   

Solidarity Across Struggles and Systemic Change

In recognition of Canadian Jewish Heritage Month, ETFO is highlighting the contributions made by Jewish workers to the Canadian labour movement. 

More than a century ago, the Eaton’s strike of 1912 showed that solidarity can flourish even in a time of rampant antisemitism. The predominantly Jewish workforce organized a successful boycott of the department store to protest exploitation and unfair compensation.[ii]

The legacy of the Canadian Jewish Labour Committee (JLC) benefits all Canadians. Established in 1936, the JLC consisted of trade unionists and social democrats who challenged antisemitism within Canadian society and helped establish protective legislation. Amid the horrors of the Second World War, the JLC persuaded the Trades and Labor Congress (TLC) to form a National Standing Committee on Racial Discrimination in 1944 [iii]. (The TLC would join with the Canadian Congress of Labour to form the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.) 

In 1946, Kalmen Kaplansky was appointed the national director of the JLC, a role designed “to combat racial and religious prejudice within the trade union movement in Canada.” The JLC built solidarity within broader anti-racist struggles and helped establish the Toronto Joint Labour Committee for Human Rights (TJLCHR). Its advocacy led to the implementation and promotion of human rights legislation such as the Ontario Fair Accommodation Practices Act, along with other legislation about fair employment practices, housing, and education.

To learn more about the Canadian Jewish Labour Committee, read this great article on the Broadbent Institute website. 

[i] Government of Canada. (2022). Statement by Minister Hussen on Canadian Jewish Heritage Month. Canada.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2023.