Côte Saint-Luc, le 2 mai 2025 —May marks Canadian Jewish Heritage Month, where we reflect on the enduring contributions of Jewish communities across Canada—and especially here in Quebec.
The City of Côte Saint-Luc is home to the largest Jewish population in Quebec. This vibrant community has shaped the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of our province for centuries. While large-scale Jewish immigration began in the late 1800s, the roots of Jewish life in Quebec go back much further.
Jewish presence in Quebec dates back to the French colonial era, with individuals like Esther Brandeau arriving as early as 1738. After the British conquest, legal restrictions began to ease. In a landmark moment, Ezekiel Hart of Trois-Rivières was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1807—the first Jew elected to public office in the British Empire. Remarkably, Jews were granted full political rights in Quebec decades before similar rights were extended in London.
In the early 1900s, tens of thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe arrived in Montreal. They settled along Saint-Laurent Boulevard—then known as “The Main”—forming a tight-knit immigrant community that contributed to commerce, the garment industry, education, and the arts. As historian Pierre Anctil notes, Yiddish was once the third most spoken language in Montreal, after French and English.
One emblematic story of integration is that of Steinberg’s, the iconic grocery chain founded by Sam Steinberg. From a single Montreal store in the 1920s, it grew into one of Canada’s largest supermarket chains. Steinberg’s employed thousands of Quebecers, including many French Canadians and became a symbol of cooperation between Jewish and French-speaking communities.
The Jewish community has also been a driving force in the fields of social justice, union organizing, and the defense of civil and workers’ rights. Many Jewish activists played a key role during the transformative decades of the Quiet Revolution, working alongside Francophones to build a more just and inclusive Quebec. As Daniel Lacasse wrote in Jews and the Quiet Revolution, the Jewish community was “an agent of change in Quebec in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – and this deserves to be recognized in order to understand the diversity of Quebec today.”
Figures such as Lea Roback, a pioneering feminist and labour activist; David Lewis, a founding figure of the CCF and NDP; and Bernard Mergler, a civil liberties lawyer and advocate for democratic reform, are part of this legacy.
Jewish Quebecers have been at the forefront of defending civil liberties, advancing public health, and building bridges across communities. Their contributions to Quebec far outpace their relatively small population and have given Quebec and the world artists, scientists, and builders such as Leonard Cohen, Rosalie Silberman Abella, Mark Wainberg, William Shatner, Irwin Cotler, Saidye Bronfman and the Bronfman family, David Azrieli, Michael Goldbloom, Sheila Finestone, Sam Steinberg, and many others.
As historian Pierre Anctil reminds us, this is not just a Jewish story—it is a Quebec story. Jewish Heritage Month invites all of us to reflect on that shared history, to learn more, and to celebrate the values of openness, diversity, and mutual respect.
Jewish Heritage Month was officially recognized by the Parliament of Canada in March 2018, through the unanimous adoption of Bill S-232.
QUOTATIONS
“Côte Saint-Luc has a dynamic and engaged Jewish community who do not take for granted that Quebec and Canada have been a safe haven and a place of refuge and opportunity. That deep gratitude is expressed every day through the contributions of Jewish Canadians to civic life, the arts, medicine, education, and social justice. Jewish Heritage Month is a time to honour that legacy and celebrate the values we all share.” – Mayor Mitchell Brownstein
“The Jewish community’s commitment to social justice and workers’ rights is not accidental—it is deeply rooted in both history and tradition. Many Jewish immigrants to Quebec arrived from Eastern Europe, where they had faced oppression, exclusion from professions, and political persecution. They brought with them not only a strong belief in education and community, but also a powerful sense of responsibility to stand up for the vulnerable. They became leaders in building unions, defending civil liberties, and promoting equality for all Quebecers. It’s a legacy we are proud to honour during Jewish Heritage Month.” – Councillor Dida Berku