Canadian Jewry Today: Portrait of a Community in the Process of Change

Publication Date: September 2006

Publisher: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Author(s): Ira Robinson

Research Area: Culture and religion; Population and demographics

Keywords: Jewish Organizations; Demography; Jewish Identification; Canadian Jews

Type: Report

Coverage: Canada

Abstract:

The author argues for the importance of studying the Canadian Jewish community. His reasoning is that Canada is both a leading Diaspora population center and one of the few second-rank Diaspora communities that is actually growing demographically. He contends that the most important trend in Canadian Jewry in the past decades is the rise of Toronto to a preeminent status in terms of Jewish population and the concomitant decline of Montreal. The author concludes by discussing the desire of Canadian Jewry to define itself by differentiating itself, politically and culturally, from the American experience.