History of the Jews in Montreal

Shearith Israel, a Spanish-Portuguese congregation, opened in 1768; it was the first Jewish congregation in Montreal. The grave of Lazarus David was the oldest Jewish grave in Montreal; it was dated to 1776. There were about 6,000 Russian Jews in Montreal in 1900. Jews made up 6-7% of Montreal's population between 1911 and 1931. In 1921, Greater Montreal had 45,802 Jews, with 93.7% of them being in the City of Montreal. In 1931, about 80% of the 60,087 Quebecers of Jewish origin lived in Montreal. ==Demographics and language==

In the 19th century, most Jews from Montreal were of British Sephardic origins, and Montreal did not have a German-Jewish elite that other communities had. Bernard Spolsky, author of The Languages of the Jews: A Sociolinguistic History, stated that "Yiddish was the dominant language of the Jewish community of Montreal". In 1931, 99.6% of Montreal Jews stated that Yiddish was their mother language. In the 1930s there was a Yiddish language education system and a Yiddish newspaper in Montreal. In 1938, most Jewish households in Montreal primarily used English and often used French and Yiddish. 9% of the Jewish households only used French and 6% only used Yiddish. From 1907 to 1977 the Keneder Adler (Odler, The Canadian Eagle), a Yiddish newspaper, was published in Montreal. The percentage of Yiddish speakers have decreased to 30.2% of the Jewish population by 1961. ==Geography==

In 1931, Laurier, St. Louis and St. Michel had the highest concentration of Jews living within the limits of the city of Montreal, with St. Louis having 54.8% of its population being Jewish, Laurier having 50.9% of its population being Jewish and St. Michel having 38.5% of its population being Jewish. During that year, 23.7% of the population of Outremont was Jewish and 7.3% of the population of Westmount was Jewish. Today, the Jewish community is primarily concentrated in Côte St. Luc, Hampstead, Snowdon, and the West Island. Other major Jewish communities exist in Outremont, Park Extension, and Chomedey. ==Politics==

In the early 20th century, Jewish representatives of the Montreal City Council, the Quebec legislature, and the Canadian parliament originated from Jewish neighbourhoods in Montreal. Jewish politicians were often elected federally in the ridings of Cartier, which exclusively elected Jewish MPs for its entire history from 1925 until it was abolished in 1966, and Mount Royal. The riding of Outremont also has a significant Jewish population. Provincially, the ridings of Montréal–Saint-Louis (later Saint-Louis) and D'Arcy-McGee often elected Jewish candidates. ==Relations with non-Jews==

Charles Dellheim, the author of "Is It Good for the Jews? The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," wrote that Jews often faced conflict from both the Francophone and Anglophone sectors of Montreal. ==Education==

The Montreal government granted Jews the right to choose whether to pay taxes to Protestant schools or Catholic schools, and therefore the right for their children to attend either school system, in 1870. In 1894 the Montreal Protestant School Board agreed to begin funding the Baron de Hirsch School for Jewish Immigrants in exchange for being the school board of choice for Montreal's Jews. Enrollment increased due to subsequent eastern European Jewish immigration. In 1962, a majority of Jewish students attended Protestant schools, accounting for 25.1 percent of elementary school enrolments and 34.5 percent high school enrolments. As of 2026, Montreal has seven non-Haredi elementary Jewish Day Schools and four Jewish high schools. These include: • École Maïmonide, a French-language elementary and high school, with campuses in Côte Saint-Luc and Saint-Laurent. • Jewish People's and Peretz Schools and Bialik High School in Côte Saint-Luc • Solomon Schechter Academy, a preschool and elementary school affiliated with Conservative Judaism. • United Talmud Torahs of Montreal and Herzliah High School, an elementary and high school in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. • Hebrew Academy, a Modern Orthodox elementary and high school in Côte Saint-Luc. • Hebrew Foundation School, an elementary school in Dollard-Des Ormeaux • Akiva School, an elementary school housed within Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, in Westmount ==Notable residents==