Tag: Canada

Webinar on Syria and Iran

On Aug. 5, B’nai Brith Canada hosted an online discussion on the crises affecting Druze communities in Syria and the Iranian people, with a focus on the impact on these diasporas in Canada and potential actions by the Canadian government. 

The speakers were Kiumars Rezvanifar, president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association and founder of the Iranian Canadian Cultural Fellowship, and Jamal Sehnawi, an advisor to the Supreme Druze Council and a member of the Canadian Druze Society. 

Rezvanifar said the recent violence in Syria’s Suwayda (Sweida) governorate could have resulted in “hundreds of thousands” of Druze deaths if the Israel Defence Forces had not intervened. He said the attacks included the killing of civilians and kidnappings, highlighting the case of a 5-year-old girl who was kidnapped, assaulted, and her family killed, allegedly by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). He lamented that major Arab media outlets like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya have downplayed the crisis, a silence he called “a moral issue.”

Independent casualty figures vary. The Washington Institute reported more than 800 dead and 900 injured. Reuters-verified footage and the Syrian Network for Human Rights cited more than 1,000 deaths, mostly Druze, including women and children. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented 182 executions by government-affiliated forces as of July 19. Le Monde reported 1,311 deaths, while Anadolu Agency cited at least 321 killed, including six children and nine women. 

These attacks have deeply shaken Canada’s Druze community, said Rezvanifar, who estimated the Druze population in Canada at about 50,000, mainly in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton. 

Sehnawi described the violence in Suwayda as “ethnic cleansing,” attributing it to the Syrian Ministry of Defence and Interior and to foreign fighters. He said the Druze community’s requests were for peace and recognition similar to that afforded to other communities worldwide. 

Throughout the discussion, Sehnawi spoke about historical and cultural ties between Jewish and Druze communities, referring to Druze as “direct descendants to the sons of Jacob (Israel)” and noting traditions of service and community support. 

The online conversation also addressed the situation in Iran. Rezvanifar spoke about decades of repression by the Iranian government, citing executions, censorship and the suppression of protests. He criticized European countries for “prioritizing economic interests over human rights,” noting that international attention often came “too late to effectively help the Iranian people facing brutal repression.”

In the face of internet blackouts and censorship, Rezvanifar praised citizen journalists, saying, “The Iranian population is tech-savvy and educated, constantly finding ways to circumvent restrictions.”

Rezvanifar alleged that Iranian regime operatives live openly in Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Richmond Hill (part of the Greater Toronto Area), claiming “thousands of visas may have been issued to regime members” and “fewer than 10 deportations have occurred in the past five to eight years.” These figures have not been independently confirmed. 

He commented on the fact that it took repeated calls before Canada designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization in 2024. The measure had been sought by various groups since the January 2020 downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, which killed 176 people, most of them Canadian citizens or residents. Both speakers called for Canada and the international community to take action in support of affected communities.

“In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location,” Sehnawi concluded. “In this situation, it’s all about information, information, information.” 

Uriel Presman Chikiar is a student at Queen’s University and serves as executive vice-president of external relations at Hillel Queen’s.

Two Yiddish-speaking Bluenosers

Writer Adina Horwich only met Yehuda Miklaf and his wife Maurene in Jerusalem, even though both Adina and Yehuda are from Nova Scotia. (photo by Adina Horwich)

So, this guy walks into my Yiddish group one fine Sunday in Jerusalem – this is not the beginning of a joke. In the group, we welcome anyone who is into Yiddish, with any background, and, on that day, Yehuda was introduced to us. We went around the room asking him questions. I asked where he hailed from. Little could I have anticipated his answer: Nova Scotia.

“I don’t believe it!” I said. “So do I!” Then, “From where, exactly?”

“Annapolis Valley.”

 “Oh,” I paused, thinking to myself, I’d be hard-pressed to find any Jews there. 

Later, Yehuda’s story was revealed when the teacher matched us up to work together.

Yehuda, an Esperanto speaker and aficionado, has only recently started to learn Yiddish, while I have been at it for 15 years. I started off with little but the smattering I heard as a child. Yehuda happened upon it by the by, via a friend in the hand-printing scene, where he is an active, prominent member. With the characteristic zeal that he tackles so many projects, and lots of gumption, he has taken to Yiddish very well. 

The sight and sound of us two old-time Bluenosers (nickname for Nova Scotians) hacking a chainik in Yiddish, is too precious. But, most of all, I like when Yehuda slips into the down-home accent I grew up with. That is when I really kvell.

Né Seamas Brian McClafferty, Yehuda was born in the mid-1940s to a father with Irish roots and a mother with origins in Quebec. The youngest of eight, he had an idyllic childhood, as a small-town Catholic youngster in Annapolis Royal, which today has a population of only 530.

In his last year of high school, Yehuda attended a Fransciscan seminary in upstate New York, his first foray away from home. With his fellow students, he passed a building with Hebrew letters, which intrigued him. A friend he asked about these unfamiliar markings promptly replied: “That’s just Hebrew.” Yehuda had never seen, much less met, any Jews. 

He completed his last year of high school and then spent a year of silence and meditation at the novitiate in the Adirondacks. The following year, he furthered his studies towards the priesthood, commencing a rigorous and intense program that sounds like a yeshiva govoha (Torah academy of higher learning).

Discipline and training, mostly in silence, hours of meditation and living under austere conditions, Yehuda carried on through to the second of four years. He heard a lecture about the Torah, which was demonstrated by a small model scroll, and delved deeply from then on, backed by the church’s ecumenical approach of spirituality and faith. He availed himself of the library to his heart’s content and took to reading the Hebrew Bible over and over again. He didn’t know it at the time, but his first steps towards life as an Orthodox Jew were taken, while he was encouraged to become a scholar of the “Old Testament.”

Over the four years of study, Yehuda began to have rather different ideas about how he wanted to live his life.

Returning to Canada in the mid-1960s, he spent time in Toronto and in Nova Scotia, taking road trips home to tend to his father who had taken ill. Things grew clearer.

Yehuda absorbed every mention of things Jewish. It was an emotional attachment. In 1966, after having left Christianity, he discussed his evolving beliefs with a Jewish friend, who said: “You sound more Jewish than me. I’m surprised that you haven’t converted.”

The conversion process was long but not arduous. Yehuda took a class in Toronto and eventually went to the mikvah. 

He and his wife Maurene – who he met through his roommate in Toronto – visited Israel, as tourists, for an extended vacation. They had not intended to make aliyah, but, smitten with Israel, as so many of us are, did so three years later.

After making aliyah, Yehuda had to “rinse and repeat,” so to speak, as often happens with conversion. Israeli rabbinic courts do not automatically accept even the most stringent diaspora Orthodox ones, and Yehuda had to go through it again, studying for a year and then going to the mikvah. The converting rabbi gave him the option of choosing a name and Yehuda suited him, since that’s where the word Jew comes from. Miklaf (literally, “from parchment”) was a good abbreviation of McClafferty, he thought, and could not have been more fitting for his chosen profession of printer and bookbinder.

Like most new immigrants at the time, they started out at an absorption centre and had a routine klita (absorption/integration), including Hebrew language studies at ulpan. Maurene got a job in high-tech and Yehuda opened a studio. He started out by binding the original of David Moss’s My Haggadah: The Book of Freedom, and branched out into printing.

The couple attends an Ashkenazi shul but try not to be pigeonholed as being from one background (Sephardi or Ashkenazi). Early on, Yehuda tasted some traditional Ashkenazi delicacies and learned how to make potato kugel, for which he’s now famous, along with kneidlach.

Yehuda still has two siblings in Nova Scotia and visits his longtime friends in Annapolis Royal.

Our paths from the Atlantic led us to meet in Jerusalem, where we raised our families. The Miklafs have two children and several grandkids. Their daughter was a high school friend of my daughter’s, and both women have been living in the same community, and they see each other now and again.

Ma’aseh avot siman l’banim – the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children – or, in this case, Ma’aseh horim siman l’banot, the deeds of the parents are a sign for the daughters. 

Adina Horwich was born in Israel to Canadian parents. In 1960, the family returned to Canada, first living in Halifax, then in a Montreal suburb. In 1975, at age 17, Horwich made aliyah, and has lived mostly in the Jerusalem area. She won a Rockower Award for journalistic excellence in covering Zionism, aliyah and Israel for her article “Immigration challenges.”

Our Jewish-Canadian identity

Before Passover, a relative of ours in New Jersey asked if we would have problems getting Manischewitz wine. I told her all would be fine. Even though US alcohol had been taken off Manitoba’s shelves, we would just buy other brands of kosher wine instead, I said.

I felt confident about this possibility until I marched to the kosher section of the wine shop and saw the notification. The store encouraged us to buy whatever was available “right now” because all kosher wine, no matter where it is made, is imported through the United States. We were fine for Passover and, to be honest, my family is more flexible about wine the rest of the year, so the situation didn’t worry me too much. 

A Manischewitz joke from my mom, visiting from the States, made me wonder about how much kosher wine is available now in Manitoba, and I did some googling. Between the provincially run Liquor Marts and the private wine shop that caters to those who keep kosher, I saw about six wine varieties available.

Then, my husband told a story he’d heard from someone attending minyan. Their family kept kosher. To get the kosher wine they wanted during Manitoba’s ban on US alcohol, they placed a special order with Happy Harry’s liquor store in Grand Forks, ND. The dad drove from Winnipeg, crossed the border, picked up two cases of wine, paid the duty at the border and drove home again. It was a 470-kilometre round trip, more or less, to resolve the issue.

You don’t think a lot about this when supply chains function between countries, but, in the absence of kosher wine imports, you have whatever odds and ends are left – and Kedem grape juice, which is still available.

Plenty of Jewish Canadians may be asking what they will drink on the holidays. This made me think about the Babylonian talmudic tractate I’ve just started studying, Avodah Zara. This tractate, compiled by about 500 CE, concerns how one lives alongside idol worship. It considers issues like whether Jews should do business with non-Jews before their festivals, because the money they earn might go towards ritual sacrifice to idols.

It gets more specific though. Jews lived in diverse places, with many different cultures around them. The rabbis wondered, what if there were a water fountain and the water spurted out of a Greek god or an idol? Jews may not drink “from Zeus’s lips.”

The rabbis then suggest a more concerning health issue about these fountains with pipes. There was danger, they posit, because these pipes brought water from ponds or rivers. You might swallow a leech. Medical suggestions about what to do if you swallow a leech (or, heaven forbid, a hornet) follow. Apparently, one is allowed to boil water on Shabbat to deal with this problem, or swallowing vinegar might help. 

This discussion on Avodah Zarah, page 12, examines how to deal with many issues in communities where we Jews interact with others, working and living together, specifically mentioning Gaza and Bet She’an. Yes, those two locations have been in the news … funny how little changes.

This tractate page describes how to cope with another even more difficult dilemma. During this period – the Mishnah was compiled by about 200 CE, and the Gemara was added by 500 CE – some people believed that Shavrirei, a water demon, came out at night. If you got thirsty at night, you must wake up someone else to accompany you, as the demon would only be a problem if you were alone. However, if you were alone and thirsty, there was another solution. One knocked on the jug lid and recited an incantation: “shavrirei verirei rirei yirei rei.” Maybe reducing the name of the demon at each repeat results in causing the demon to disappear, too? 

To most modern thinkers, this whole approach will seem bizarre. An entire tractate is devoted to avoiding idol worship, since Jews believe in only one G-d. Yet, at that time, Jews also seemed to believe that dangerous demons existed, swallowing leeches could be resolved by consuming hot water, and a person would die from swallowing a hornet but might delay their demise by drinking vinegar. Worldviews are complicated, and full of contradictions.

These days, Jews, both in Israel and the diaspora, live in community with non-Jews. We must cooperate and get along even when our traditions don’t jibe. Further, we must consider when our actions are meaningful and when they’re tokenism. Some examples of avoiding idol worship suggest that Jews should avoid even the appearance of worshipping idols. For instance, if you get a thorn in your foot near an idol statue, don’t bow down there to pull out the splinter! It looks bad.

From the outside, sure, Jews in Canada can stand behind our country’s counter-tariffs and the choices made by our country and provinces to deal with trade issues. It’s within the rights of provinces to pull US alcohol from our shelves. That said, how then do Jewish families who require kosher wine to say Kiddush, celebrate Shabbat or weddings or holidays? According to at least one household, it requires crossing the border, paying the duty and getting on with things.

It’s not clear whether the counter-tariffs, lack of US alcohol sales or decreased Canadian tourism to the United States will make any difference in the Canada-US trade relationship. Like the incantation to get rid of the demon Shavrirei, perhaps reducing the names of those who bother us makes them disappear. Maybe it’s just a ritual that makes us feel better. We can’t tell from here. 

Over time, our priorities differ. Sometimes, we’re scared of a water demon. Other times, we’re feeling thrashed about by trade talks with an “orange” ruler of a different sort. In both cases, we might respond with token acts or incantations, which mostly don’t change things. Yet, the rabbis point out, water is essential to life. We must drink, so we come up with hopefully safe solutions to quench our thirst. Wine is a little less necessary, but we bless it multiple times a year, so does the kosher wine shortage matter more now? The issue creates discord between our Canadian and Jewish identities, as we live in the diaspora.

Perhaps all will be resolved when Canada’s internal trade between provinces improves. Maybe we’ll think less about this when the weather cools and we’re not quite so “thirsty.” Here we are, almost 2,000 years after these issues were first discussed, still wondering the best ways to live in diverse societies, meet our needs and get along with our neighbours. 

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.

Na’amat Canada marks 100

Susan Inhaber, president, Na’amat Canada (left), with Dalia Margalit-Faircloth, president, Na’amat Vancouver. (photo by Heather Freed)

Na’amat Canada and NA’AMAT USA came together last month to celebrate a milestone: 100 years of community work.

The Centennial Celebration, held in Toronto May 16-18, brought together leaders, members and supporters for a weekend filled with joy, reflection and renewed purpose. The program featured tributes, performances and presentations from Na’amat International leaders. Together, participants honoured a century of activism and achievement while charting the course for the work ahead.

Na’amat was “the first and last women’s organization for which I ever worked,” said the late Golda Meir, national secretary (president) of Na’amat in the 1930s, decades before she became Israel’s prime minister.

Founded in 1925, Na’amat Canada is a Jewish nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to improving the lives of women, children and families in Israel and Canada through education, advocacy and social services.

“From our humble beginnings as a single organization to the growth of two vibrant organizations dedicated to empowering women and children in Israel, we can take great pride in our rich and storied history,” said event co-chairs Jan Gurvitch (NA’AMAT USA) and Susan Inhaber (Na’amat Canada). “This celebration honours not only the trailblazers who came before us but also the dedicated individuals who continue to give their time and energy to carry our mission forward.”

The weekend began with welcomes and candlelighting, continued with performances and storytelling, and culminated in a  tribute to Na’amat’s past national presidents, women who helped shape the organization’s direction for generations. Attendees also heard from Na’amat Israel leaders Hagit Pe’er and Shirli Shavit, who shared updates on urgent needs and inspiring progress on the ground.

“Today, as we honour this remarkable milestone, we celebrate not only the achievements of the past but also the enduring partnership that continues to drive our mission forward,” said Pe’er, president of Na’amat Israel and Na’amat International. “Together, we have built a legacy of resilience, compassion and progress that will inspire future generations.”

The event captured the deep sense of community that defines Na’amat: from singing and dancing, to laughter and reflection, to sharing dreams for the next 100 years.

Kanot Youth Village

After wrapping up the centennial, the occasion served as the launchpad for Na’amat Canada’s next major initiative: a fundraising campaign to equip a brand-new middle school building at Kanot Youth Village, a life-changing boarding school for at-risk youth in Israel.

“We help children cross the bridge – from being lonely to being socially connected, from failing in school to succeeding, from mistrust and alienation to belonging, connection and pride in being part of society,” said Dr. Hezi Yosef, director of Kanot, who is an expert in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy and lectures at educational institutions and organizations in Israel and worldwide.

Founded by Na’amat in 1952, Kanot today serves 700 students, many of whom face poverty, trauma or loss. The new building – a collaborative project between Na’amat Canada, donors and Israel’s Ministry of Education – is nearly complete but, to open its doors in September 2025, it must be fully furnished and equipped.

Na’amat aims to raise $180,000 CAD to provide classroom furniture, lab tools, creative arts supplies and technology to transform the space into a vibrant learning environment.

To learn more about Na’amat’s impact or to support the Kanot campaign, visit naamat.com or call 1-888-278-0792. 

– Courtesy Na’amat Canada

חוזרים בחזרה לישראל

 בחודשים האחרונים לא מעט ישראלים שעברו לקנדה עקב המלחמה, בעקבות אירועי השבעה באוקטובר, חוזרים בחזרה לישראל. קנדה הפעילה תוכנית מיוחדת עבור הישראלים עקב המלחמה, ואיפשרה להם לקבל רישיון עבודה לשלוש שנים. לאחר מכן יתאפשר להם במקרים מסוימים לקבל תושבות קבע ואזרחות. כמה עשרות אלפי ישראלים ניצלו אפשרות זו ועברו לקנדה בשנה וחצי האחרונות. מרביתם מטבע הדברים עברו לגור בטורונטו שבה יש את הריכוז הגדול ביותר של יהודים וישראלים בקנדה

עתה המצב התהפך ורבים מישראלים אלה חוזרים הביתה לאחר שלא הצליחו להתאים את עצמם למגורים קבועים בקנדה. זאת, בעיקר כיוון שלא תכננו נכונה מראש את החיים הצפויים להם במדינה הקנדית. לפי הערכה כחמישים אחוז מאלה שעברו לקנדה בגלל השבעה באוקטובר יחזרו בסופו של דבר לישראל

רוב הישראלים שחוזרים לישראל אמרו לעצמם נעבור לקנדה ואז נזרום, וזאת כמובן לא תוכנית טובה. רובם הבינו רק בדיעבד שלא תהיה להם אפשרות להישאר בקנדה מעבר לשלוש השנים של קבלת רישיון העבודה. אם הם היו קוראים מידע לפני המעבר או מבררים באתרים ייעודיים, הם היו חוסכים לעצמם עשרות או מאות אלפי שקלים. ישנם גם ישראלים שגילו בדיעבד שבמקום שבו הם נחתו בקנדה – הם לא יוכלו לקבל תושבות ואחרי ששכרו בית, רשמו את הילדים לבית הספר ומצאו עבודה, הם נאלצים לעבור לגור באזור אחר.
ישנם מקרים קיצונים יותר של ישראלים שלצערם לא הצליחו למצוא עבודה, ונאלצו לבקש מחברי הקהילה היהודית עזרה במגורים ומזון. במקרים כאלה הומלץ להם לחזור מייד לישראל, להתארגן מחדש ולנצל את רישיון העבודה שלהם בעתיד

קבוצות הפייסבוק מהוות מקום בו אפשר לשאול ישראלים אחרים את כל השאלות שמטרידות אתם לפני המעבר, אך הבעיה מתחילה כשמקבלים עשר תשובות שונות ורובן אינן נכונות ואף מטעות. כשמתכננים מהלך כזה מורכב, חובה לקבל תשובות מקצועיות, המתאימות למצב האישי של השואל ולא להסתמך על מידע שניתן מאנשים, שחלק מהם היגרו לפני שנים רבות כשמערכת ההגירה היתה שונה והתנאים בקנדה היו שונים. ישנם גם יועצים מטעם עצמם ובעלי אינטרסים כלכליים, שמסתובבים בקבוצות השונות ומחלקים עצות בחינם – גם במקרה הזה חינם עלול לעלות הרבה כסף בטווח הארוך

חלק מסוים מאלפי הישראלים שהגיעו לקנדה ארזו מזוודה, ובהחלטה של רגע הזמינו כרטיס טיסה ועברו. ישנם צעירים, ששמעו מחברים שעברו לקנדה ללא שום תכנון מראש. אך לאחר כמה חודשים בקנדה הבינו שמכיוון ואין להם אפילו תעודת בגרות ולכן יהיה להם קשה לקבל את תושבות הקבע, ועל כן חזרו לישראל

יש ישראלים שחזרו לישראל מקנדה למרות שקיבלו רישיון העבודה והתחילו לעבוד, אך לאחר כמה חודשים הבינו שהחיים בקנדה אינם נוצצים כפי שדמיינו. הם הרגישו מנותקים מהמשפחה והחברים והתקשו להתאקלם בתרבות החדשה. אחרי מספר חודשים, החליטו לחזור לישראל ולהתחיל את חייהם מחדש

המעבר לקנדה כולל גם הסתגלות לשוני תרבותי נרחב. רבים מהישראלים גילו כי התרבות הקנדית שונה באופן משמעותי מזו הישראלית. הקנדים ידועים ברוגע שלהם לעומת הפלפליות הישראלית. כמו כן, הנורמות החברתיות וההתנהלות היומיומית בקנדה שונות מהותית מאלו שבישראל. ישראלים רבים חושבים שכמו בישראל הם יתארחו בבתי חברים וגם ילדיהם יוזמנו על ידי החברים שלהם לאחר יום הלימודים ולחלופין. אך זה לא קורה, כיוון שבקנדה קובעים פגישות חברתיות כולל בין ילדים, מספר ימים או אפילו שבוע מראש, ואין מקום לספונטניות הישראלית

O Canada! tote bag line

Tikun Olam Gogos’ O Canada! bags proclaim dedication to the ethic of improving the world in friendship with other nations, raising much-needed funds for grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa who are raising their grandchildren due to the HIV & AIDS pandemic. (photo from Tikun Olam Gogos)

As proud Canadians and fundraisers for the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, Tikun Olam Gogos have launched a special edition line of O Canada! tote bags – determined to respond to the threats American tariffs pose to Canada, and to the suspension of USAID, which is devastating to the Gogos’ partner organizations in Africa. 

According to Stephen Lewis, “Lives will be lost. Our best contribution at this perilous moment is to attempt to replace the resources that America has expunged.”

Tikun Olam Gogos’ response to the White House is to raise more funds by intensifying its efforts to handcraft and market its O Canada! line of large tote bags, zippered and drawstring pouches.

Tikun Olam Gogos (TOG) is part of the Greater Vancouver Gogos, which includes about 20 Gogo groups across the Lower Mainland. Gogo is the Zulu word for “grandmother” and tikkun olam is Hebrew for “repair of the world.” TOG is a volunteer group of grandmothers and grand-others (non-members who help out the group periodically) in Vancouver that was founded in May 2011 and is sponsored by the Sisterhood of Temple Sholom. Its mission is to raise awareness, build solidarity and mobilize support in Canada for grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa who are raising their grandchildren due to the HIV & AIDS pandemic. 

In 14 years of operation, Tikun Olam Gogos has raised more than half a million dollars for the SLF Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. With its partners in Africa reeling from the withdrawal of other international programs, TOG is more determined than ever to fulfil its motto: “we will not rest until they can rest.”

Priced at $50, just $5 more than TOG’s original signature totes, the O Canada! bags proclaim dedication to the ethic of improving the world in friendship with other nations. So, wear your maple leaf and your heart proudly on your O Canada! tote. You are telling the world “Canada cares.”

To order your O Canada! tote bags, zippered pouches and drawstring pouches, visit tikunolamgogos.org or call Joyce Cherry at 604-261-5454. 

– Courtesy Tikun Olam Gogos

בורחים מטראמפ ועוברים לקנדה

מספר האמריקאים שעוזבים את ארה”ב ועוברים למדינה השכנה מצפון – קנדה – הולך וגדל. זאת, בעיקר עקב בחירתו המחודשת של דונלד טראמפ לנשיא המדינה

קרוב למאה אלף אמריקאים חצו את הגבול בעשר השנים האחרונות והפכו לתושבי קבע או אזרחים, לפי דיווח של ממשלת קנדה. וזאת בעיקר עקב בחירתו של טראמפ בפעם הראשונה לנשיאות (לפני כתשע שנים), לצד הרגשת חוסר הביטחון האישי, שהיו מהגורמים המרכזיים להגירה לקנדה

בעקבות המתיחות הפוליטית הגוברת בארה”ב, בוודאי אחרי בחירתו בחודש נובמבר של טראמפ לנשיא האמריקני בפעם השנייה, והזעזועים החברתיים העמוקים, יותר ויותר אמריקאים בוחנים אפשרות להגר לקנדה. נתוני גוגל טרנדס מראים זינוק משמעותי בחיפושים אחר מעבר לקנדה, שהחלו לאחר העימות הטלוויזיוני בין הנשיא היוצא ג’ו ביידן לטראמפ, כשביידן נראה מבולבל מאוד לאורך השידור, כך לפי דיווחים בעיתונות האמריקנית

מהלנה-רי ג’ונסון, אישה שחורה בת ארבעים ושתיים, מייצגת את גל ההגירה הזה. ג’ונסון, שגדלה בדרום ארה”ב ועברה ללוס אנג’לס, החליטה בשנת  אלפיים ושמונה עשרה עבור לקנדה עם בן זוגה. היא רצתה  לחיות במקום שבו המדינה לא נמצאת במלחמה מתמדת. לדבריה במדינה כמו קנדה היא מקום בו היא מרגישה בטוחה יותר עם משפחתה

לפי נתוני ממשלת קנדה, בין השנים אלפיים וחמש עשרה ועד הרבעון השלישי של שנה שעברה, קיבלו למעלה מתשעים ושלושה אלף אמריקאים תושבות קבע בקנדה. המספרים עולים בהתמדה כמעט מדי שנה מאז בחירתו של טראמפ לנשיאות בארה”ב בפעם הראשונה

אולם החיים בקנדה אינם חסרי אתגרים ובעיות. יותר ויותר אמריקאים מדווחים על הקשיים הכלכליים במעבר. כך למשל, כריס אולט בן הארבעים, שעבר מפורטלנד לויקטוריה במחוז בריטיש קולומביה, סיפר שהדירה שלו בארה”ב בבניין מגורים עלתה כשלוש מאות אלף דולר. ואילו אותה דירה בקנדה עולה בין חצי מיליון לתשע מאות אלף דולר. ובתים פרטיים הרבה יותר יקרים בקנדה ומחירם נאמד סביב מיליון דולר או אף יותר

האמריקנים שעברו לקנדה מספרים שהשירות הרפואי בקנדה הוא חינם עבור אזרחים ותושבי קבע, או בעלות נמוכה מאוד. וזה יתרון אדיר מול ארה”ב שבה השירות הרפואי עולה הרבה מאוד כסף, ויש משפחות מתקשות להתמודד עם הוצאה חיונית וגדולה זו. מצד שני זמני ההמתנה לטיפולים רפואיים ארוכים במיוחד בקנדה, עם תורים שיכולים להגיע לשנה וחצי עבור ניתוחים לא דחופים. המצב כל כך חמור עד כדי כך שאנשים נאלצים לטוס למדינות אחרות, כולל בחזרה לארה”ב, כדי למשל לעבור ניתוחים מסובכים

למרות בעיות ההגירה הקשורות בקנדה, המהגרים מדווחים על יתרונות משמעותיים. מערכת החינוך נחשבת איכותית יותר, והביטחון האישי גבוה יותר, בעיקר בכל מה שקשור לעניין רישוי הנשק, שהוא פרוץ לגמרי בארה”ב. וזה מעלה חשש גדול אצל הורים ששולחים ילדים למסגרות החינוך נוכח תקריות הירי, שהפכו כבר לדי שכיחות במדינתם

אם כן, אמנם קנדה מהווה פתרון אטרקטיבי לאמריקאים שמחפשים שינוי נוכח התנודות הפוליטיות במדינה והחשש לביטחון האישי שלהם, אבל היא לא אוטופיה. גם במדינה השכנה יש לא מעט מורכבויות ואתגרים כלכליים, חברתיים ותרבותיים. וכידוע חיי מהגרים לא תמיד קלים במיוחד בשנים הראשונות לקליטתם במדינתם החדשה

טראמפ שנכנס שוב הפעם לבית הלבן מדיר שינה מאמריקנים רבים שמבינים היטב עד כמה הוא מסוכן למדינתם, למערב ובעצם לעולם כולו. ועל כן מספר המהגרים מארה”ב לקנדה צפוי לגדול בשנים הקרובות. בקנדה שמתעבים את טראמפ מקבלים את האמריקנים בזרועות פתוחות כבני משפחה לכל דבר ועניין.

Interesting time to live

It is said that a week is a lifetime in politics and – well, would you look at that? – it is almost exactly a week before the Liberal Party of Canada selects its new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Conventional wisdom says that leader will be Mark Carney. Of course, if conventional wisdom were dependable, prime ministers John Turner and Kim Campbell would have gone down in history as figures in the biggest landslides in electoral history. Of course, those “fresh faces” were indeed involved in two of Canada’s most decisive electoral sweeps – just not in the ways they had hoped. Both had taken what appeared to be their respective parties’ hopeless chances and revived their fortunes temporarily before being devastated in their parties’ worst showings to date when the votes came in.

Both Campbell and Turner were, to an extent, known quantities, though Turner had been out of the political scene for close to a decade and Campbell was a single-term cabinet minister without the deepest roots in federal politics when she became the country’s first (and, to date, only) female prime minister.

So, while conventional wisdom tells us that Carney will be the next Liberal leader – and, by convention, as leader of the governing party, prime minister – conventional wisdom can be bubkes, as Turner and Campbell learned.

Carney, former head of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, has never held elective office. Many Canadians wouldn’t recognize him in the lineup at Tim Horton’s. In a time of economic anxiety, Carney’s undeniable credibility on that topic is the selling point that has brought members of the Liberal caucus to his campaign by an almost four-to-one margin over presumed second-place candidate Chrystia Freeland, whose shock resignation led to Trudeau’s retirement in the first place.

In any event, surveys suggest that, under Carney, the Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre would go from shoo-ins to a neck-and-neck race. One poll suggests that, given Anyone-But-Trudeau, centre-left voters would rally around Carney to keep the Conservatives out, with New Democratic Party support crashing to half of what it gained in the last election.

Whoever wins the probably-almost-immediate general election after the leadership vote will inherit one of the most unenviable scenarios. With the once and once again US President Donald Trump reprising his role as global disruptor, threatening the Canadian (and global) economy with tariffs, aggression and assorted chaos, the new Canadian leader will walk a tightrope of defending Canadian interests while not unnecessarily rattling the cage of the Most Powerful Man in the World ™. Trump injects variables into politics that can never be accurately predicted – and Canadian leaders will be forced to react.

It is almost inevitable that everything will be seen through a prism of Trumpism, including the flashpoint issue of the Middle East conflict. With the US president repeatedly promising variations on the theme of “all hell” if developments do not go in Israel’s favour, fragile diplomacy, such as it ever has been between Israel and its neighbours, seems to be a thing of the past – particularly with Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu largely echoing Trump’s  sociopathic scheme for some sort of Las Vegas in the Gaza Strip. 

Canadian voters tend to make electoral decisions on domestic issues, not foreign policy. Nevertheless, there is another variable that could play a sleeper in the coming election. It’s something few people seem to have on the radar but that may emerge as things unfold.

Anti-Israel activists (call them “pro-Palestinian” if you will, though it is hard to see how stopping traffic, chanting slogans, burning flags, etc., are aiding Palestinians) are no doubt planning to continue disrupting any public event where they can make their case against Israel. While justifying the atrocities of Oct. 7 as “brilliant” and justifiable, for example, is probably a bridge too far even for those most sympathetic to the Palestinian people and those who desire peace, depend on these extremists to nonetheless disrupt political events across the country – and do not expect them to do so in stereotypically polite Canadian style. 

There are a lot of external variables facing Canadian politicians in the coming weeks. Responding to harangues from Washington by an unprecedented leader will force our own leaders to respond. Closer to home, expect disruptions and pandemonium from so-called “pro-Palestinian” activists. How politicians react to these unpredictable interventions could change the trajectory of the race. How Canadians, in turn, respond to the politicians’ reactions could prove one of the most volatile variables in the unsettled political firmament.

A profoundly false (we think) assumption says that Canadian politics and history are boring. In this era, a more ancient dictum – the curse “May you live in interesting times” – seems more apt.