From left: Conservative candidate for Thornhill Melissa Lantsman, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his wife, Anaida Poilievre, visit the media preview for the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Toronto on April 22.Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
No community is a monolith; each is as diverse as its members. With that caveat, here are some thoughts about why so many Canadian Jews are enamoured with the Conservative Party.
Pierre Poilievre is the one leader, as many Canadian Jews see it, who has spoken out unequivocally against antisemitism. He’s the one leader, they feel, who has their backs.
“You are not alone,” read a recent Poilievre Instagram post, vowing to fight for Canadian Jews’ safety, security and acceptance. “You should feel proud to be Jewish, and never feel like you have to hide that identity.”
While the issues generating the most oxygen in this campaign include the economy and how to handle Donald Trump, the Israel-Hamas war and its spillover into Canada is also a factor for some voters. In some Jewish circles, that is translating into strong Conservative support – even among former Liberal and even NDP voters.
Since Oct. 7, 2023 – the date of the Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked the war still raging in Gaza – many Canadian Jews have felt vulnerable. Not vulnerable the way Palestinians in Gaza are, of course, or the Israeli hostages still being held there. But vulnerable from antisemitism in their own country.
This past weekend, three Jewish-owned businesses in Thornhill, Ont., were vandalized: a kosher pizzeria, a Judaica shop and a pharmacy. This follows other incidents targeting the Jewish community, as well as aggressive anti-Israel protests.
Canadians deserve safety and security. That has not been the experience for many Jews here since the war began.
Jews make up less than one per cent of the population but were the target of 70 per cent of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2023, according to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. That year, CIJA says, hate crimes against Canadian Jews increased 71 per cent from 2022. These statistics are a backbone of a CIJA campaign asking voters to consider which party would keep Canadian Jews safe. It does not endorse a particular party.
In December, before Justin Trudeau resigned, a Leger survey found that Canadian Jews were much more likely to support the Conservatives than the Liberals – and that the decline in Liberal support and increase in Conservative support was more pronounced among Jews than in the general population.
The support for Mr. Poilievre in Jewish online spaces is strong. Jewish Facebook groups are filled with posts by people who felt betrayed by the Trudeau government and argue Mr. Poilievre would not abandon them the way they feel the Liberals have; they are often dismissive of statements of support from Mr. Trudeau.
The Liberals have condemned the Hamas attacks and supported Israel’s right to self-defence, but have also expressed alarm at the deaths in Gaza, and most Liberal MPs supported a non-binding 2024 NDP motion calling to suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel.
Mark Carney has changed the conversation to an extent, but not for everyone.
When a protester at a recent event yelled “there’s a genocide in Palestine,” Mr. Carney responded, “I’m aware. That’s why we have an arms embargo.” He later said he didn’t hear the heckler use the word “genocide.” Based on activity on Jewish Facebook groups, many aren’t convinced.
For some Canadian Jews who disagree that the term “genocide” is an accurate description of the war in Gaza, this seemed to be evidence that Mr. Carney was not a strong ally like Mr. Poilievre (and notably, Thornhill Conservative candidate Melissa Lantsman).
Mr. Poilievre has unequivocally supported Israel, including opposing funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). In both debates last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Mr. Poilievre’s stance and comments on the matter “disgusting.”
For some Jewish voters, the NDP has become anathema. Mr. Singh is one of more than 300 candidates who have endorsed the Vote Palestine campaign, urging Canadians to consider support for Palestinians when they vote. The Green Party’s co-leaders are also on board. Most of those endorsing the campaign are New Democrats and Greens, but a few Liberals have signed on too.
Both Mr. Carney and Mr. Singh attended Passover celebrations this month. For some Jewish voters, this was a relief, evidence that their community counts. Others dismissed the appearances as performative.
While some find Mr. Poilievre’s support for the community disingenuous, one does wonder about it as a political strategy. Jews are a tiny percentage of the population, and thus the electorate.
A more universal takeaway might be that all voters want to feel safe – including from discrimination. I don’t think there is any reason to believe that the Liberals or Conservatives would not strive for this. But there are people in Canada’s Jewish community who disagree.