Canadian Jews are set to head to the ballot box for a federal election on Monday, with concerns about safety and antisemitism at the forefront for many Jewish voters.
The Liberal Party is projected to likely win enough parliament seats for a slim majority government, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, potentially continuing a decade of federal liberal rule and solidifying control after six years of minority parliament.
The same projections predicted that the Conservative Party would continue as the opposition, but polling indicated that support for the New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois dropped precipitously from the previous parliament. CBC projected the NDP to drop from 25 to 5 seats, and the Bloc from 32 to 23.
The election comes after the resignation of ex-prime minister Justin Trudeau, a trade dispute with the United States, and persistent economic issues. Jewish voters are also going to the polls under the specter of rising antisemitic incidents, with B’nai Brith Canada’s 2024 audit recording a total of 6,219 incidents – a 7.4% increase from 2023.
The Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has received criticism for rising Jew hate under its watch, making antisemitism an election issue. Antisemitism escalated following the October 7 massacre, as did anti-Israel protests and pushes for pro-Palestinian policy, leading to debates about Israel-Canada ties.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith Canada have both launched campaigns urging Canadian Jews to vote, complete with answers from federal parties to pressing policy issues for the demographic.
Protecting the Jewish community in Canada
CIJA asked the federal parties about how they would protect the Jewish community from attacks, including from the current wave of arson and vandalism against synagogues, schools, and community centers. CIJA also asked how the parties would address discrimination and intimidation of Jews in society, protecting social cohesion and values, and strong diplomatic and security ties with Israel.
The Liberal Party promised increased funding to protect Jewish sites through the Canada Community Security Program, a process that Carney assured would be streamlined.
The leading federal party said that it would build upon the March National Forum on Antisemitism and work closely with municipal and provincial law enforcement to combat antisemitism, and introduced so-called “bubble laws” to make it a criminal offense for protests to willfully obstruct access to houses of worship, schools, and community centers.sIt also told B’nai B’rith that the party would criminalize intimidation of worshipers.
The Liberal Party told CIJA that it would continue to facilitate Jewish life in Canada, noting that it had invested $200 million in Holocaust education, established a Jewish Heritage Month, and apologized for denying entry to Holocaust refugees wanting to board the St. Louis.
Carney’s party emphasized its 2024 achievements in listing Ansar Allah, Samidoun, and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist entities. The Liberal Party has assured that it would maintain economic, social, and cultural relations with Israel, and would support the Jewish state’s “right to defend itself and its civilians, in accordance with international law.” The party said it would continue to demand the release of all hostages held by Hamas, while advocating for a permanent ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid, culminating in a two-state solution with no role for Hamas.
The Conservative Party attacked the Liberal Party for surging hate crimes, violent crime, and antisemitic crime, telling CIJA that it would also fast-track its Security Infrastructure Program and launch a national task force to stop attacks on the Jewish community. The opposition also promised to repeal legislation that gave repeat offenders bail, and to give repeat serious offenders mandatory prison time.
The Liberal Party’s designation of groups like the IRGC as terrorist groups was past due, argued the Conservative Party, promising to act sooner by not allowing extremist groups to operate in the country and immediately proscribe any group supporting terrorism. It was noted to B’nai B’rith that the Conservatives had led the campaign to proscribe groups such as Samidoun. Universities and organizations allowing anti-Jewish harassment could face a cessation of federal funding under a Conservative-led government.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has called for persons on visitor visas to be deported for crimes, including antisemitic crimes. Poilievre has called anti-Israel street protests “rampaging riots,” and his party told B’nai Brith that it would close loopholes “exploited” by organizers of “hate-fests” like Al-Quds Day. The party also said it supported the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
Poilievre has been an outspoken ally of Israel, especially since the October 7 massacre, calling for intelligence and consular support and for Canada to stand with Israel until Hamas is defeated and dismantled. Conservatives have also vowed to defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) due to the involvement of employees in the 2023 Hamas-led pogrom in southern Israel, noting that Carney has committed to continuing aid to the organization.
The Bloc Québécois, led by Yves-François Blanchet, told CIJA that it wished to remove religious exceptions for convictions of promoting hatred. The Bloc also told B’nai B’rith that it was supportive of the adoption of the IHRA definition, but that a non-legally binding article should promote awareness of antisemitism, and should not be interpreted as restricting legitimate criticism of Israel.
Blanchet’s party believed that sanctions should be taken against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers over alleged calls to commit crimes against humanity. The party supports a two-state solution but acknowledged that peace was impossible with Hamas and therefore supported “an international intervention force aimed at bringing peace to Gaza.”
The Green Party told B’nai B’rith that it would strengthen hate speech laws, including against social media platforms. Like many of the other parties, the Green Party promised to increase security funding for houses of worship. The smaller political movement also pledged to push for mandatory Holocaust studies.
Dozens of Green Party candidates, including leaders Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault, signed onto the Vote Palestien platform, which calls for a two-way arms embargo against Israel; Canadian recognition of a Palestinian state; and an end to all engagement with Israeli settlements, including investment, goods, services, and cultural and academic exchanges. The platform would also see the prohibition of owning, selling, or renting properties in the “disputed territories” by anyone in Canada and the revocation of charitable status for Canadian organizations supporting these towns.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and hundreds of his party’s candidates have also signed onto the platform, as have two dozen Liberal Party members.
During debates, Singh slammed Poilievre for his calls to defund UNRWA as “disgusting” and repeatedly dogged Carney over whether or not he considered Israeli actions in Gaza to be genocide. Carney agreed that the situation in Gaza was terrible but explained that he would never use the word “genocide” in a way that would “politicize the situation.”
Singh’s pressing of Carney on the terminology used to describe the situation in Gaza came after an April 8 press briefing controversy in which the prime minister was interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester shouting, “There’s a genocide happening in Gaza.”
Carney responded, “I’m aware, and that’s why we have an arms embargo.”
Ahead of the election, B’nai Brith organized debates between candidates in ridings with significant Jewish populations, such as the April 15 York Centre debate.
