The Jewish population of Canada is approximately 360,000, with a majority living in either Toronto (175,000) or Montreal (100,000). Following the end of World War II, some 40,000 Holocaust survivors, stemming mainly from Eastern Europe, resettled in Canada (second in number only to Israel and the United States). The following is a list of some prominent Canadian Jews.
Historical figures
Politicians
- Dave Barrett, premier of British Columbia
- Sidney Buckwold, senator and mayor of Saskatoon
- David Caplan, Ontario MPP
- Elinor Caplan, MP
- Saul Mark Cherniack, Manitoba MLA
- Erminie Cohen, senator
- David Croll, senator
- Barnett Jerome Danson, cabinet minister
- Howard Epstein, Nova Scotia MLA
- Mike Feldman, deputy mayor of Toronto
- Sheila Finestone, MP and senator
- Myra Freeman, lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia
- Victor Goldbloom, Quebec MNA and doctor
- Carl Goldenberg, senator
- Herb Gray, deputy prime minister
- Allan Grossman, Ontario MPP
- Larry Grossman, Ontario MPP
- Bob Kaplan, solicitor general
- Sam Katz, mayor of Winnipeg
- Leonard Arthur Kitz, mayor of Halifax
- Monte Kwinter, Ontario MPP
- Saul Laskin, mayor of Thunder Bay
- Mel Lastman, mayor of Toronto
- David Lewis, NDP leader
- Stephen Lewis, Ontario NDP leader
- Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto
- Stephen Mandel, mayor of Edmonton
- Bob Rae, premier of Ontario (Jewish father)
- Scott Reid, MP (Jewish mother)
- Fred Rose, MP
- Jacques Saada, MP
- J.B. Salsberg, Ontario MPP
- Mira Spivak, senator
- Sidney Spivak, Manitoba MLA
- Gerry Weiner, former MP
Jurists and public servants
- Rosalie Abella, Supreme Court justice
- Harold Buchwald, lawyer
- Irwin Cotler, justice minister
- Ben Dunkelman, soldier
- Morris Fish, Supreme Court justice
- Samuel Freedman, Manitoba chief justice
- Alan B. Gold, Quebec chief justice
- Klaus Goldschlag, ambassador
- Allan Gotlieb, ambassador
- Edward Greenspan, lawyer
- Sol Kanee, lawyer
- Bora Laskin, chief justice
- Nathaniel Nemetz, British Columbia chief justice
- Louis Rasminsky, governor of the Bank of Canada
- Bernard Shapiro, Ethics Commissioner of Canada
Religious figures
Academics
Natural scientists
- Sidney Altman, molecular biologist, Nobel Prize (1989)
- Ursula Franklin, metallurgist (Jewish mother)
- William Kahan, computer scientist, Turing Award (1989)
- Martin Kamen, chemist
- Irving Kaplansky, mathematician
- Rachmiel Levine, physician
- David H. Levy, astronomer
- Rudolph Marcus, chemist, Nobel Prize (1992)
- Henry Morgentaler, doctor & abortion activist
- Louis Nirenberg, mathematician
- John von Polanyi, chemist, Nobel Prize (1986) (Jewish father)
- Ray Reiter, computer scientist
- Juda Quastel, biochemist
- Louis Siminovitch, molecular biologist
- Louis Slotin, physicist & radiation victim
- Mark Wainberg, AIDS researcher
Social scientists
- Irving Abella, historian
- Anne Bayefsky, human rights scholar
- Eric Berne, psychiatrist
- Norman Cantor, historian
- Erving Goffman, sociologist
- J. L. Granatstein, historian
- Raymond Klibansky, philosopher
- James Laxer, political economist (Jewish father)
- Steven Pinker, psychologist
- Myron Scholes, economist, Nobel Prize (1997)
- Lionel Tiger, anthropologist
- Jacob Viner, economist (Canadian-born)
Film, TV and stage
Actors and performers
- Harvey Atkin, actor
- Emmanuelle Chriqui, actress
- Erica Ehm, video jockey
- Victor Garber, actor
- Jessalyn Gilsig, TV actress (Jewish father)
- Lorne Greene, actor
- Corey Haim, actor
- Monty Hall, TV host
- Melissa Hayden, ballet dancer (unconfirmed)
- Lou Jacobi, actor
- Mia Kirshner, actress
- Eugene Levy, actor
- Howie Mandel, actor & comedian
- Rick Moranis, actor & comedian
- Saul Rubinek, actor
- Mort Sahl, comedian
- Paul Shaffer, TV comedian
- William Shatner, actor
- David Steinberg, comedian
- Al Waxman, actor
- Wayne and Shuster, comedy duo
- Joseph Wiseman, actor
Directors and producers
- Mark Achbar, director
- Sidney M. Cohen director-producer
- David Cronenberg, director
- Garth Drabinsky, theatre impressario
- Sidney J. Furie, director
- Harold Greenberg, producer
- Arthur Hiller, director
- John Hirsch, theatre director
- Robert Lantos, producer
- Louis B. Mayer, film producer
- Lorne Michaels, TV producer
- Ivan Reitman, director
- Warner Brothers, film producers
- Peter Wintonick, director
- Moses Znaimer, TV producer
Musicians
Popular musicians
- Paula Abdul, singer, dancer, & choreographer (Canadian mother)
- Natalie & Nicole Appleton, members of All Saints (Jewish mother)
- Steve Bays, member of Hot Hot Heat
- Leonard Cohen, songwriter & poet
- Percy Faith, bandleader
- Chilly Gonzales, electronica
- Daniel Greaves, Joey Serlin, Sammy Kohn, members of The Watchmen
- Moe Koffman, jazz musician
- Corky Laing, member of Mountain
- Geddy Lee, frontman of Rush
- Marilyn Lerner, jazz pianist
- Ben Mink, collaborator of k.d. lang (who herself claims remote Jewish ancestry)
- Steven Page, member of Barenaked Ladies
- Peaches, electrothrash artist
- Robbie Robertson, member of The Band (Jewish father)
- Lhasa de Sela, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother)
- David Usher, singer/songwriter (Jewish father)
- Zack Werner, judge on Canadian Idol
- Zal Yanovsky, member of Lovin' Spoonful
Classical musicians
- Murray Adaskin, violinist & composer
- Louis Applebaum, composer
- Henry Brant, composer
- Alexander Brott, composer, violinist & conductor
- Nicholas Goldschmidt, conductor (Jewish father)
- Ofra Harnoy, cellist
- David L. Kaplan, professor and conductor
- George London, operatic baritone
- Howard Shore, film composer
- John Weinzweig, composer
- Maurice Zbriger, violinist
Writers
Authors
- Joel Bakan, author
- Saul Bellow, writer, Nobel Prize (1976) (Canadian-born)
- David Bezmozgis, author
- Matt Cohen, writer
- Cory Doctorow, author, blogger
- Howard Engel, mystery writer
- Martin Friedland, author, professor & lawyer
- Phyllis Gotlieb, science fiction writer
- Sondra Gotlieb, writer
- Naïm Kattan, writer
- A.M. Klein, poet
- Irving Layton, poet
- Norman Levine, writer
- Jack Ludwig, writer
- Eli Mandel, poet
- Mordecai Richler, author
- Rick Salutin, playwright & critic
- Jason Sherman, playwright
- Mark Strand, poet
- Morley Torgov, author
- Karen X. Tulchinsky, author & screenwriter
- Miriam Waddington, poet
- Tom Wayman, poet
- William Weintraub, author
- Adele Wiseman, writer
Journalists
- Barbara Amiel, journalist
- Steven Cojocaru, fashion critic
- Barbara Frum, journalist
- David Frum, journalist
- Lorrie Goldstein, journalist, editor
- Naomi Klein, journalist, author, activist
- Michael Landsberg, sports broadcaster
- Michele Landsberg, columnist & social activist
- Ezra Levant, journalist
- Avi Lewis, broadcaster
- Eric Margolis, journalist (Jewish father)
- Peter C. Newman, journalist
- M.J. Nurenberger, founder of Canadian Jewish News
- Steve Paikin, broadcaster
- Ellie Tesher, advice columnist
Artists
Business and philanthropy
- Izzy Asper, founder of CanWest Global Communications
- David Azrieli, businessman & philanthropist
- Jenny Belzberg, philanthropist
- Samuel Belzberg, businessman & philanthropist
- Samuel Bronfman, founder of Seagram, Bronfman family dynasty
- Edgar, Sr., Edgar, Jr., Edward & Charles Bronfman, businessmen & philanthropists
- Reuben Cohen, businessman
- George Cohon, founder of McDonald's of Canada
- Maxwell Cummings, businessman & philanthropist
- Leslie Dan, businessman & philanthropist
- Jack Diamond, businessman & philanthropist
- Jacob Ghermezian & sons, real estate owners & developers
- Milton Harris, businessman
- Michal Hornstein, businessman & philanthropist
- Avrom Isaacs, art dealer
- Ed Mirvish, businessman & philanthropist
- Paul Reichmann & family, real estate owners & developers
- Sarah & Herman Reitman, founders of Reitmans
- Joseph Rotman, businessman & philanthropist
- Gerald Schwartz, founder of Onex Corporation
- Jeffrey Skoll, co-founder of eBay, philanthropist
- Isadore Sharp, businessman
- Max Stern, arts benefactor
Sports
- Samuel Berger, CFL teams owner
- Noah Cantor, CFL player
- Steve Dubinsky, NHL player
- Sherman Greenfeld, racquetball world champion
- Cecil Hart, Montreal Canadiens coach
- Lew Heyman, Toronto Argonauts & Montreal Alouettes coach
- Bobbie Rosenfeld, all-round female athlete
- Louis Rubenstein, world figure skating champion
- Albert Schneider, Olympic boxing champion
- Ben Weider, physical fitness
- Daniel Yanofsky, Chess Grandmaster
See also
