Minister Bendayan announces funding for Holocaust
remembrance initiatives across the country
MONTRÉAL, March 6,
2025 /CNW/ - The federal government is committed to
preserving the memory of the Holocaust and honouring the voices of
survivors, while actively combatting antisemitism and hate in all
its forms.
Today, the Honourable Rachel
Bendayan, Minister of Official Languages and
Associate Minister of Public Safety, announced nearly $1.5 million in funding for seven initiatives to
strengthen Holocaust education and awareness efforts in
Canada. She made this announcement
on behalf of the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity,
Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities.
This includes new funding to the National Council of Jewish
Women of Canada, the Jewish
Federation of Ottawa, the
University of Victoria, the Jewish
Russian Community Centre of Ontario, the Atlantic Canada Holocaust
Education Foundation, the Benevolent Society for Propagation of
Hebrew, and Hillel Ontario. These projects are funded
through the new National Holocaust Remembrance Program.
Budget 2024 provided $5 million over five years,
starting in 2024–25, and $2 million per year on an
ongoing basis, for the creation of a new, permanent National
Holocaust Remembrance Program. This new program is also part
of Canada's Action Plan on
Combatting Hate, which brings together 20 key federal programs
in a government-wide approach to combatting hate, building unity
and keeping Canadians safe.
The National Holocaust Remembrance Program helps keep the
memory of the Holocaust alive and helps Canadians better understand
this tragedy and the ways antisemitism still affects us
today.
Quotes
"Eighty years ago, humanity witnessed one the darkest chapters
in history with the murder of more than 6 million Jews during
the Holocaust. We have a responsibility to never forget and to
ensure that the events of the Holocaust are never repeated. As we
see a rise in antisemitism today, we must be reminded that it is
our responsibility to stand up for all Jewish communities. That is
why we introduced the new National Holocaust Remembrance Program,
which will support initiatives to preserve the memory of the
Holocaust and teach Canadians how they can play an active role in
combatting antisemitism."
—The Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity,
Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
Quick Facts
On January 27, 2025, the
Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, announced the first projects funded
through the National Holocaust Remembrance Program. The projects
announced represent more than $2
million in funding to continue to combat antisemitism,
preserve Holocaust remembrance, and educate against Holocaust
denialism and distortion in Canada
and around the world.
Antisemitism continues to rise in Canada. The terrorist attack by Hamas on
Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israel–Hamas
conflict exacerbated the increasing rates of hate incidents against
Jewish communities across the country. Hate crimes targeting Jewish
people rose 71 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to July 2024 Statistics Canada data, making Jewish
Canadians the most targeted group in Canada for hate crimes.
Canada has the
fourth-largest Jewish community in the world, following
Israel, the United States and France. In the 2021 census, 335,000 Canadians
identified as Jewish. As of December
2024, Canada's Holocaust
survivor population is roughly 9,800, one of the largest in the
world.
The Government of Canada's efforts to build a safer, more
inclusive society include the work of the Special Envoy on
Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting
Antisemitism. The position of Special Envoy was
created in 2020 as part of the federal government's commitment to
strengthening national and international efforts to preserve the
memory of the Holocaust and honour the stories of
survivors.
In October 2024, the
Government of Canada released
the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition
of Antisemitism. Using Canadian examples, the handbook
serves as a tool to identify and address antisemitism.
In 2022, the federal government amended Canada's Criminal Code to make it a crime to
willfully promote antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying
the Holocaust.
Related Products
Backgrounder: Government of Canada supports Holocaust remembrance
initiatives across Canada
The Honourable Rachel Bendayan, Minister of
Official Languages and Associate Minister of Public Safety,
announced nearly $1.5 million in
funding for 7 initiatives across Canada as part of the National Holocaust
Remembrance Program. She made the announcement on behalf of the
Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and
Persons with Disabilities.
Project: Fighting Antisemitism, Holocaust
Remembrance and Hate: The Power of Small Conversations
Partner: National Council of Jewish Women of
Canada, Toronto Section
Funding: $258,400 over
five years, starting in 2024–2025
This project aims to educate Canadians on contemporary antisemitism
and Holocaust understanding through dialogue. Participants will be
provided with tools to engage in constructive dialogue to address
the Holocaust, antisemitism and racism within their homes,
workplaces, schools and communities.
Project: Ottawa Holocaust Survivor Testimony
Booklets
Partner: Jewish Federation of Ottawa
Funding: $12,500 over two
years, starting in 2024–2025
Funding for this initiative will help support the creation of
educational resources based on testimonies from Holocaust
survivors. The Jewish Federation of Ottawa will conduct interviews with
Ottawa-based Holocaust survivors
and consultations with historians and educators to develop booklets
for Canadians of all ages. The launch will be followed by a public
education campaign in Ottawa.
Project: Developing Trauma-Informed Teaching
Resources and Outreach Activities for Arts-Based Survivor
Testimonies
Partner: University of
Victoria
Funding: $129,769 over
four years, starting in 2024–2025
This project aims to develop trauma-informed educational resources
and activities, as well as an art exhibition to support two graphic
novels inspired by survivors' testimonies that will allow youth to
explore the experiences of child Holocaust survivors in
Poland, Germany and Romania.
Project: Echoes of Survival: Voices of Soviet
Holocaust Survivors
Partner: Jewish Russian Community Centre of
Ontario
Funding: $50,920 over one
year (2025–2026)
Through the funding provided, the Jewish Russian Community Centre
of Ontario will host a series of
interactive discussion sessions and workshops between Soviet
Holocaust survivors, their descendants and a variety of
participants. This project will provide an immersive and
interactive learning experience for youth to learn about the
Holocaust. The archives will be made available to all Canadians and
serve as educational tools for ongoing Holocaust education and
remembrance.
Project: Holocaust Education Exhibit Program
Partner: Atlantic Canada Holocaust Education
Foundation
Funding: $142,239 over
three years, starting in 2024–2025
This project aims to create a bilingual educational exhibit on
Holocaust remembrance for communities that are small or remote from
major urban centres, and where Holocaust education resources are
limited.
Project: Young Champions of Light over Darkness
Partner: Benevolent Society for Propagation of
Hebrew
Funding: $356,000 over
four years, starting in 2025–2026
Funding to this initiative will help provide age-appropriate
Holocaust education material for teachers and students from diverse
cultural and faith backgrounds in elementary schools across the
greater Montréal area.
Project: The SHARE Fellowship
Partner: Hillel Ontario
Funding: $478,500 over
four years, starting in 2025–2026
Funding to this initiative will help support the SHARE Fellowship
and Holocaust Education Week programs. A thousand students at nine
different university campuses, from Jewish and non-Jewish
communities, are expected to participate in the project.
Associated Links
National Holocaust Remembrance Program
Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of
Antisemitism
SOURCE Canadian Heritage
