The Canadian national elections saw no change in the Jewish representation in the Dominion’s Parliament and left the situation unchanged as far as Canadian Jewry is concerned despite the fact that the Liberal Party which was turned out of power had been a notable friend of Jews and Israel.
The one Jewish MP, Leon Cresthol of Montreal was re-elected. The lone Jewish Senator, David Croll, holds his seat for life, unaffected by elections.
The Liberal Party, represented by such men as the late Mackenzie King, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent and Minister for External Affairs Lester B. Pearson, played a positive role in the rehabilitation of the remnants of European Jewry and the establishment of the State of Israel. On the domestic scene, Liberal Government policies resulted in the virtual disappearance of anti-Semitism on the national scene and the enactment of anti-racial legislation.
On the other hand, observers note, historically every party in Canada has at one time or another sent a Jewish member to Parliament and has demonstrated in other ways its friendship for Jews. At times, Conservative leaders have been even more outspoken in this sphere than Liberals, and have also shown a sensitivity to Israel’s problems.
The one element in the new party line-up which has given cause for second thoughts is the possible influence of the Social Credit Party in the current situation where neither of the two major parties can rule alone. For many years leaders of the Social Credit movement and of splinter groups on its fringes have been among the most outspoken anti-Semites in public life. However, in Alberta, the only province under a Social Credit administration, there has been no anti-Semitism and the party itself disavows anti-Semitism. More recently, leading members of the movement have expressed friendship for Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
