Canada has been home to Jewish settlers for over 200 years. However, the greatest waves of immigration occurred at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The upheaval of the First World War, the desperate situation of Jews in Eastern European countries shortly after it, and a rise in Jewish nationalism and Zionism in the early 20th century, were all factors that inspired the movement to found a body which would represent the interests of all Canadian Jews and coordinate their humanitarian efforts towards those overseas.

Initially conflicting factions among the established and newly-immigrated Canadian Jews eventually united to found a national Congress of Canadian Jewry in 1919. The first Plenary of CJC was held March 16-19, 1919, in Montreal, with 209 delegates in attendance from cities and small communities across Canada and over 2500 spectators.

One of the results of the first plenary assembly was the creation of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society, or JIAS.

After an initial burst of activity, CJC faded from public view during the 1920s and early 30s. However, the rise in antisemitism in Canada, paralleling Hitler’s rise in Europe, motivated Canada’s Jews to re-convene Canadian Jewish Congress as a permanent body.

The second CJC plenary was held in Toronto in January, 1934. Since that time the organization has continued without pause to serve the interests of the Canadian Jewish community.

From 1939 to 1962 CJC’s activities were spearheaded by National President Samuel Bronfman.

Canadian Jewish Congress played many important roles during the war and immediate post-war years. A War Efforts office recruited Jewish servicemen and co-ordinated outreach efforts to Jews in the Canadian Armed forces, while outreach efforts to Jews of German origin interned in British camps in Canada resulted in the eventual release of these individuals.

Lobbying efforts were repeatedly made to reduce Canada’s restrictive policies on immigration at that time, in order to allow more refugees to enter the country. Immigration schemes, such as the Iberian Refugee project and the Skilled Labourers project were created in order to permit Jews to come to Canada despite the government’s stringent restrictions.

In the immediate postwar period, the Refugee Youth immigration project brought over 1000 young Jewish survivors to Canada under CJC sponsorship.

In addition, relief shipments were sent to the Displaced person camps in the years following World War II.

From the post-war period through to the present, CJC has continued to adapt its priorities to the changing needs of the national and international Jewish scene.

These activities include lobbying and providing support for Hungarian Jewry in the 1950s and Jews in the Soviet Union through the 1970s and 1980s, as well as sending relief shipments to Cuban Jews from the 1960s to the present.

Within Canada, CJC’s lobbying efforts included participation in Royal Commissions on Hate Propaganda the 1960s and the prosecution of Nazi War Criminals in Canada in the 1980s, as well as significant input into Canadian policy-making on education, freedom of religion, and other human rights issues.

A pioneer in the field, CJC has often worked in co-ordination with other groups on many inter-cultural and inter-religious issues. A strong proponent of federalism, Canadian Jewish Congress has always been committed and dedicated to “doing everything it can to preserve national unity from sea to sea.”

In the 1990s and the first decade of the present century, CJC has organized conferences on Non-Governmental Organizations, looted art, security, and other topical issues. Its Charities Committee has been the conduit for fundraising directed at victims of natural disasters, both Jewish and non-Jewish, in many areas worldwide.

CJC has supported justice in areas such as Darfur, and locally for the disadvantaged, from aboriginal rights issues to Jewish women unable to divorce.

Its Charities Committee National Archives department is reputed to have, in the words of Canadian historian Irving Abella, ”amongst the best collection of materials on Jewish social and immigration history anywhere in the world,”

From coast to coast, Canadian Jewish Congress is still going strong at 90 years old.