The Jewish population of Canada is approximately 360,000, with a majority living in either Toronto (175,000) or Montreal (100,000). The following is a list of some prominent Canadian Jews.
Politicians
- Dave Barrett, premier of British Columbia
- Sidney Buckwold, senator and mayor of Saskatoon
- David Caplan, Ontario MPP
- Elinor Caplan, MP
- Saul Mark Cherniack, Manitoba MLA
- David Croll, senator
- Barnett Jerome Danson, politician
- Howard Epstein, Nova Scotia MLA
- Mike Feldman, deputy mayor of Toronto
- Sheila Finestone, MP and senator
- Myra Freeman, lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia
- Victor Goldbloom, Quebec MNA and doctor
- Herb Gray, deputy prime minister
- Bob Kaplan, solicitor general
- Sam Katz, mayor of Winnipeg
- Leonard Arthur Kitz, mayor of Halifax
- Monte Kwinter, Ontario MPP
- Saul Laskin, mayor of Thunder Bay
- Mel Lastman, mayor of Toronto
- David Lewis, NDP leader
- Stephen Lewis, Ontario NDP leader
- Stephen Mandel, mayor of Edmonton
- Bob Rae, premier of Ontario (Jewish father)
- J.B. Salsberg, Ontario MPP
- Mira Spivak, senator
- Sidney Spivak, Manitoba MLA
Jurists, Lawyers & Public Servants
- Rosalie Abella, Supreme Court justice
- Harold Buchwald, lawyer
- Irwin Cotler, justice minister
- Ben Dunkelman, soldier
- Morris Fish, Supreme Court justice
- Samuel Freedman, Manitoba chief justice
- Alan B. Gold, Quebec chief justice
- Klaus Goldschlag, ambassador
- Allan Gotlieb, ambassador
- Edward Greenspan, lawyer
- Bora Laskin, chief justice
- Louis Rasminsky, governor of the Bank of Canada
Religious Figures
Scientists & Academics
- Irving Abella, historian
- Sidney Altman, molecular biologist, Nobel Prize (1989)
- Anne Bayefsky, human rights scholar
- Eric Berne, psychiatrist
- Norman Cantor, historian
- Ursula Franklin, metallurgist (Jewish mother)
- Erving Goffman, sociologist
- J. L. Granatstein, historian
- William Kahan, computer scientist, Turing Award (1989)
- Martin Kamen, chemist
- James Laxer, political economist (Jewish father)
- Rachmiel Levine, physician
- Rudolph Marcus, chemist, Nobel Prize (1992)
- Henry Morgentaler, doctor & abortion activist
- Steven Pinker, psychologist
- John von Polanyi, chemist, Nobel Prize (1986) (Jewish father)
- Juda Quastel, biochemist
- Myron Scholes, economist, Nobel Prize (1997)
- Louis Siminovitch, molecular biologist
- Louis Slotin, physicist & radiation victim
- Lionel Tiger, anthropologist
- Jacob Viner, economist (Canadian-born)
- Mark Wainberg, AIDS researcher
Film, TV & Stage
- Mark Achbar, director
- David Cronenberg, director
- Garth Drabinsky, theatre impressario
- Sidney J. Furie, director
- Victor Garber, actor
- Jessalyn Gilsig, tv actress (Jewish father)
- Harold Greenberg, producer
- Lorne Greene, actor
- Corey Haim, actor
- Monty Hall, tv host
- Melissa Hayden, ballet dancer (unconfirmed)
- Arthur Hiller, director
- Lou Jacobi, actor
- Mia Kirshner, actress
- Robert Lantos, producer
- Eugene Levy, actor
- Howie Mandel, actor & comedian
- Louis B. Mayer, film producer
- Lorne Michaels, tv producer
- Rick Moranis, actor & comedian
- Ivan Reitman, director
- Mort Sahl, comedian
- Paul Shaffer, tv comedian
- William Shatner, actor
- David Steinberg, comedian
- Warner Brothers, film producers
- Al Waxman, actor
- Wayne and Shuster, comedy duo
- Peter Wintonick, director
- Joseph Wiseman, actor
- Moses Znaimer, tv producer
Musicians
- Murray Adaskin, violinist & composer
- Louis Applebaum, composer
- Steve Bays, member of Hot Hot Heat
- Henry Brant, composer
- Natalie & Nicole Appleton, members of All Saints (Jewish mother)
- Leonard Cohen, songwriter & poet
- Percy Faith, bandleader
- Nicholas Goldschmidt, conductor (Jewish father)
- Chilly Gonzales, electronica
- Daniel Greaves, Joey Serlin, Sammy Kohn, members of The Watchmen
- Ofra Harnoy, cellist
- David L. Kaplan, professor and conductor
- Moe Koffman, jazz musician
- Corky Laing, member of Mountain
- Geddy Lee, member of Rush
- Marilyn Lerner, jazz pianist
- George London, operatic baritone
- Ben Mink, collaborator of k.d. lang (who herself claims remote Jewish ancestry)
- Steven Page, member of Barenaked Ladies
- Peaches, electrothrash artist
- Robbie Robertson, member of The Band (Jewish father)
- Lhasa de Sela, singer/songwriter (Jewish mother)
- Howard Shore, film composer
- David Usher, singer/songwriter (Jewish father)
- Zal Yanovsky, member of Lovin' Spoonful
Writers & Poets
- Joel Bakan, author
- Saul Bellow, writer, Nobel Prize (1976) (Canadian-born)
- David Bezmozgis, author
- Matt Cohen, writer
- Howard Engel, mystery writer
- Sondra Gotlieb, writer
- A.M. Klein, poet
- Irving Layton, poet
- Mordecai Richler, author
- Rick Salutin, playwright & critic
- Jason Sherman, playwright
- Mark Strand, poet
- Karen X. Tulchinsky, author & screenwriter
- Miriam Waddington, poet
- Adele Wiseman, writer
Journalists
- Barbara Amiel, journalist
- Steven Cojocaru, fashion critic
- Barbara Frum, journalist
- Lorrie Goldstein, journalist, editor
- Naomi Klein, journalist, author, activist
- Michael Landsberg, sports broadcaster
- Michele Landsberg, columnist & social activist
- Ezra Levant, journalist
- Avi Lewis, broadcaster
- Eric Margolis, journalist (Jewish father)
- Peter C. Newman, journalist
- M.J. Nurenberger, founder of Canadian Jewish News
- Steve Paikin, broadcaster
- Ellie Tesher, advice columnist
Artists
Business & Philanthropy
- Izzy Asper, founder of CanWest Global Communications
- Jenny Belzberg, philanthropist
- Samuel Belzberg, businessman & philanthropist
- Samuel Bronfman, founder of Seagram, Bronfman family dynasty
- Edgar, Sr., Edgar, Jr. & Charles Bronfman, businessmen & philanthropists
- Leslie Dan, businessman & philanthropist
- Jacob Ghermezian & sons, real estate owners & developers
- Avrom Isaacs, art dealer
- Ed Mirvish, businessman & philanthropist
- Paul Reichmann & family, real estate owners & developers
- Sarah & Herman Reitman, founders of Reitmans
- Gerald Schwartz, founder of Onex Corporation
- Jeffrey Skoll, co-founder of eBay, philanthropist
- Max Stern, arts benefactor
Sports
- Samuel Berger, CFL teams owner
- Noah Cantor, CFL player
- Steve Dubinsky, NHL player
- Sherman Greenfeld, racquetball world champion
- Cecil Hart, Montreal Canadiens coach
- Lew Heyman, Toronto Argonauts & Montreal Alouettes coach
- Bobbie Rosenfeld, all-round female athlete
- Louis Rubenstein, world figure skating champion
- Albert Schneider, Olympic boxing champion
- Ben Weider, physical fitness
- Daniel Yanofsky, Chess Grandmaster
See also
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