January 22 2026
Content Warning: This article contains mentions of genocide, antisemitism, and violence. If you require mental health support, you can access https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html to resources available in your area.
January 27th marks the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp. More than one million people were murdered at this camp, including 1 million Jewish people, 74,000 non-Jewish Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, at least 43 gay people, along with 10,000-15,000 others. The Nazis also targeted people with disabilities to increase the speed at which the Nazis could enact the genocide and elimination of Jewish people. The notorious gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau and other death camps were developed by testing on people with disabilities. Every year this day is observed globally by the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.
The Holocaust is a globally recognized antisemitic genocide, and many nations, organizations, and civil groups have taken on the responsibility of holocaust education and remembrance to combat antisemitism. However, in Canada, antisemitism is on the rise; after Black populations, Statistics Canada shows the Jewish community has the second highest rate of police-reported hate crimes.
In a nation where the reported crimes against Jewish people are increasing bills and policies are being tabled by the federal government that demand a uniform political worldview for Jewish people instead of establishing supports and structures that make Jewish people safer. Quebec has also introduced, passed, and expanded laws that limit religious freedom, including wearing religious symbols, or only offering food based on a religious tradition.
Organizations, such as the Independent Jewish Voices of Canada, have stated that the definitions of antisemitism commonly used by governments are not only flawed and widely discredited, but can actually reiterate the logic of antisemitic attacks against Jewish people. We use this day of commemoration to demand real change, to protect Jewish people and their families, and to challenge antisemitism in all its forms.