By Dave Gordon
Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister whose views on Israel and Jew-hatred have left Canadian Jewish leaders very worried, won the Canadian election on April 28, although his Liberal Party failed to secure a majority of seats in Parliament.
The pro-Israel politician’s Conservative Party gained seats overall in the federal election.
Aviva Klompas, a former speechwriter for the Israeli mission to the UN and native of Toronto, said that she has seen terror supporters enjoy “free license” in Canada in recent years to march in the streets, glorify violence and threaten Jews “with impunity.”
“I’m deeply disappointed by the election results. This is personal for me,” she said.
“The synagogue I grew up in, in Toronto, has been vandalized eight times. The first time was horrifying. But times two through eight? That reflects a political leadership that has chosen indifference.”
“They’ve turned their backs on Canadian Jews, and the entire country will pay the price,” she said.
Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides, assistant rabbi of Beth Tzedec Congregation in Calgary, said that Jews have a “general state of apprehension” about the results.
Carney “hasn’t turned his attention towards the problem of anti-Semitism and made a strong case for protecting Jews in this country,” the rabbi said.
The rabbi hopes that major Jewish groups “reach out to the Liberal government and mend some bridges and create some relationships, so that our community feels supported.”
“That’s what we want and that’s what is good for everybody,” she said. “We can’t ally with just one party.”
Igal Hecht, a Toronto filmmaker who directed the documentary “Killing Roads” (2024) about Oct. 7, said that he is convinced nothing will change.
“We’re going to see a Liberal government that has no concern for the Jewish community and turns a blind eye,” he said.
Hecht is encouraged by the pro-Israel Jewish Liberals, Rachel Bendayan and Anthony Housefather.
If the Liberals carry on as they have for the last 19 months and don’t issue legislation countering violent, anti-Semitic protests, Canada will see “the exact same patterns” as Europe, Hecht said, “a massively radicalized Muslim community that resorts to violence and intimidation to terrorize the Jewish community.”
“That’s something we have to reckon with as Jews. We are no longer a voting bloc that is counted by the Liberal Party,” he said. “That’s what it seems like.”
Hecht figures that the Liberal government will “fund Shoah education, this or that building, but how does that help the everyday Jew who hides his kippah or Star of David?” he said. “How does that help any of the businesses with their windows smashed?”
B’nai Brith Canada congratulated Carney and the Liberal Party on their victory.
The group called for immediate “robust enforcement of hate crime laws, enhanced protection for Jewish institutions and communities and serious educational initiatives to counter hatred and extremism.”
Noah Shack, the interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy arm of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, stated that Canadian Jews “showed up in a big way” in the election as candidates, volunteers and voters and “made an outsized contribution to our democracy.”
CIJA said, “The challenges facing our community are immense. We have a clear expectation that the next Parliament will urgently advance serious and impactful solutions.”
“While Canadian Jews are politically diverse, there is broad consensus that Canada stands at a crossroads regarding the future of our community.
“Over the course of the campaign, tens of thousands of Jewish voters directly engaged with local candidates on core issues of concern — from anti-Semitism and public safety to Canada’s relationship with our ally, Israel.”
The Jewish parliamentarian Anthony Housefather, a Liberal of the Jewish-heavy Montreal riding (district) of Mount Royal, won a fourth term over Neil Oberman, who is also Jewish.
The Toronto riding of York Centre, which has a large Jewish population, shifted colors, from Ya’ara Saks, a Liberal, to Roman Baber, a Conservative.
The last time the riding was Conservative was about a decade ago, but it had been Liberal for 50 years prior.
Saks drew ire from many local Jews for a photo in which she posed in Ramallah with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Sidura Ludwig, a writer who lives in Thornhill, said:
“Being a Liberal-leaning person, if you had spoken to me back in January, I might have told you then that I might have voted Conservative,” she said.
But she changed her mind about voting Conservative after Trump “really changed the narrative.”
“I’m very, very concerned about tariffs, the 51st state and Canadian identity,” she said. “Carney is the right leader, for right now.”
Avrum Rosensweig, a podcaster and former head of a charity, said that he has positive feelings about Carney.
Rosensweig didn’t think Liberals would be that different from Conservatives “on the ground,” and he thinks Carney is “an upstanding man, a decent human being, extraordinarily successful and bright.”
“I don’t think the sky is falling,” he said. “I think we’ll be OK.”
