The number of Jewish congregations in Canada increased from 153 to 200 in the 25 years between 1933 and 1958, the Canadian Jewish Congress revealed today on the basis of a survey in depth of the Canadian Jewish community.
While Orthodox congregations, always out front in the total number, increased from 140 to 170, the Conservative movement nearly tripled its congregational strength, from nine to 25. Reform congregations increased only one, from four to five.
The number of children attending Jewish schools nearly quadrupled in the generation, rising from 6,000 to 24,000. Day school registration gained most of the percentage increase in school attendance, moving from two percent of the total in 1933 to 30 percent this year.
Salaried employes among Canadian Jews still account for 56 percent of all breadwinners, but self-employed businessmen and industrialists increased from 24 to 34 percent and professionals from 5.1 to 8.4 percent.
From the end of World War II to the close of 1957, the survey indicated, 44,579 Jews entered Canada as immigrants, more than half settling in Quebec province. The next largest group, 36 percent, settled in Ontario while the remainder were scattered among the western and northern provinces.
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