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
Contacts: For more information (media only), please contact: Waleed Saleem, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, [email protected]
Share this article