Our November 2025 survey of Canadian Jews, along with our partners at JSpaceCanada and Canadian Friends of Peace Now shows that Canadian Jews are deeply engaged with Israel and Canadian foreign policy, with large majorities following developments in Israel/Gaza and Canada’s responses closely.
The community is not disengaged or indifferent; rather, it is highly attentive, civically active, and invested in shaping outcomes. At the same time, the data reveal a community navigating tension and restraint: many respondents report holding back from expressing their views, particularly those on the left, reflecting internal divisions and a sense that Israel-related discourse has become fraught within Jewish communal spaces. On the war in Gaza, a clear majority of Canadian Jews maintain a defensive stance toward Israel. Over 70 percent justify the war as self-defence, hostage recovery, or a conventional war, and reject accusations of genocide or intentional starvation.
A smaller but significant minority, roughly 17–20 percent, blame or strongly criticize Israel’s conduct, with sharper criticism concentrated among the firm left, Reform Jews, and NDP voters.
This divide is one of the most polarizing findings of the survey: open criticism of the war resonates primarily with this minority, while the majority remains protective of Israel’s actions, even as many distinguish between Israeli leadership and Israeli society.
Beyond the war itself, the survey uncovers a different and wider consensus. Just over half of Canadian Jews oppose core policies of the current Israeli government regarding Palestinians, including settlement expansion, annexation, and the rejection of a Palestinian state. A majority support a two-state solution, and support rises sharply when statehood is presented within a regional normalization and security framework involving Arab states and international guarantees. Opposition to settlements cuts across ideological lines, extending well beyond the left and into the political centre and parts of the right. These findings point to a substantial opening for further advocacy around concrete action from the Canadian government on these issues.
Support for Israeli democracy emerges as one of the strongest points of unity in the community. Three-quarters of respondents believe Israel is a democracy, yet nearly half say the government’s judicial reforms threaten that democracy, while many others admit they do not yet understand the issue well. Large majorities agree that Canada and Canadian Jews should support democracy in Israel, and pro-democracy movements rank among the most important causes Canadian Jews should back. While fewer respondents currently link democracy explicitly to occupation or the war, more than one-third already see that connection, suggesting significant room for education and persuasion around democratic erosion as a shared concern.
Canadian Jews show the highest support for Canadian government actions that align with areas of disagreement with the Israeli government: increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza, and sanctioning violent settlers or far-right Israeli ministers. These measures are supported by roughly 40–50 percent overall and by clear majorities within liberal, Reform, Western, and left-leaning sub-communities. More confrontational steps, such as recognizing a Palestinian state or imposing an arms embargo, receive much lower support, though support has increased or stayed the same for the past year, regardless of the more defensive position toward the war specifically. Overall, the findings depict a community that is engaged, internally diverse, defensive on the war, but open to firm, values-based advocacy on democracy, settlements, and long-term peace, especially when framed in ways that emphasize balance, security, and shared Jewish and democratic values.
The sample for this poll was drawn from a large online panel of Canadian adults. It was weighted by characteristics of the Canadian Jewish population based on the 2021 Census of Canada and the 2018 Survey of Jews in Canada: the distribution of Canadian Jews by age, gender, region of residence, and denominational affiliation. The sample is believed to be broadly representative of Canadian Jewry. A simple probability sample of 502 individuals would have a maximum margin of error of 4.0%, with the margin of error decreasing as findings exceed or subceed 50%. When statistically significant findings are reported here, they are deemed to be accurate within the margin of error in 19 of 20 similar samples. Throughout this report, percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Some reported total percentages may not equal exactly 100 due to rounding. Figures comparing groups are designed to highlight statistically significant differences; when groups are combined, it means there is no statistically significant difference between them.