Limmud Toronto 2018

What do we know about the Jewish population of Canada today? The basic demographics are captured every few years through the national census that identifies who self-identifies as Jewish, where they live, and such basic characteristics as age, gender and educational attainment. But what about Jewish identity, practices, values and experiences? Such information has never been collected on a national scale, and is becoming increasingly important given the dynamic changes taking place in society, and in the Jewish community. In 2013, the Pew Research Center conducted a comprehensive survey of American Jews, and the results raised important questions in this country about how our own population may be similar of different.

In 2018, a major survey of the Canadian Jewish population was launched to address this basic question, led by the non-profit Environics Institute for Survey Research, in partnership with the University of Toronto and York University. The study covers the Jewish population in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver (comprising more than 80% of Canada’s Jewish population), and addresses such topics as Jewish identity and practice, childhood upbringing, experiences with anti-Semitism, and connections to Israel. This presentation will provide a general overview of the research, and cover selected insights.