Jamie Michaels is an instructor at the University of Calgary’s Department of English and the creative director of the publishing house Dirty Water Comics.
Jamie Michaels is an instructor at the University of Calgary’s Department of English and creative director of the publishing house Dirty Water Comics.Photographer: Chris McIvor/Supplied
The details of the Christie Pits Riot, which occurred on August 16, 1933, remain chilling 90 years later. Nazi-inspired youth unfurled a swastika banner at a baseball game in Toronto’s Christie Pits park, leading to an all-night brawl involving thousands of people in the nearby streets. Many were injured in the violence, which pitted Jews and their allies from Toronto’s recent immigrant communities against Anglo-Canadians, many of whom were in favour of restricting Jews from accessing certain public spaces, jobs and housing.
Today, Canada is undoubtedly a more tolerant, generous, and welcoming country than it was 90 years ago. However, anti-Jewish hate is on the rise. Jewish Canadians comprise one per cent of the population, yet despite this, they remain the targets of 14 per cent of all police-reported hate crime. Canadian Jews are 10 times more likely to be the targets of a hate crime than other religious minorities. Begrudgingly, there are lessons from Christie Pits that remain strikingly relevant for Canada today.
Anti-Jewish hatred differs from many other hatreds. It is both a bigotry and a conspiracy theory. The absurd belief that Jews control the financial system goes back thousands of years. This trope becomes particularly dangerous in times of economic uncertainty.
Inequality is skyrocketing in Canada. For those without intergenerational wealth, the prospect of homeownership remains a fever dream. The gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to increase.
As the playing field becomes increasingly unfair, it’s no surprise that some Canadians are searching for scapegoats to blame for their problems. Many are stumbling into antisemitism.
First and foremost, this conspiratorial thinking poses a direct threat to Canadian Jewry. It also robs those who believe in a Jewish monetary conspiracy of the opportunity to learn how financial systems actually function, how to challenge inequality, or how to be informed participants in a democracy. Ultimately, the outlet for this type of conspiratorial thinking has been, and always will be, violence.
It’s no coincidence that the Christie Pits Riot took place against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Inequality breeds populism. Today, there is no need to wait for the outbreak of violence to combat hatred and confront inequality.
The Jews who fought at Christie Pits were joined by other newcomers who felt they too had been treated as second-class citizens. The sense of camaraderie between these communities was bolstered by living side-by-side in Toronto’s immigrant neighbourhoods, such as St. John’s Ward and Kensington Market.
On July 11, 1933, a month before the violence erupted at Christie Pits, Jewish Canadians walked off the job in a protest strike against Hitlerism. They were joined by fellow immigrants, as well as union leaders and labour activists.
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Today, our sense of solidarity remains our greatest strength in combatting the rise of antisemitism and challenging inequality. In fact, I’m not convinced either can be challenged holistically without considering the other.
Unchecked corporate profiteering has run rampant as everyday Canadians struggle to emerge from the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Food bank use has reached record numbers. For many, the basic costs of living are becoming unreachable. In response, labour actions have surged across the country.
Grocery store workers have walked off the job. Longshore workers have shut down ports across British Columbia. Federal public servants engaged in a historic strike. As labour actions continue to challenge an increasingly stratifying Canada, their successes will be defined by how well they can keep the conversation focused on policy.
Xenophobia has already begun to tiptoe into discussions surrounding the housing crisis. Immigrants and “globalists” – a thinly veiled dog-whistle for Jews – have been scapegoated as the cause of high home prices. These misguided knee-jerk reactions reveal a deep frustration with current financial systems.
As we mark the 90th anniversary of one of Canada’s worst race riots, we are afforded a unique historical anchor through which to consider the past and imagine the future.
In the aftermath of the Christie Pits Riot, Toronto mayor William James Stewart declared he would prosecute future displays of the swastika. It was one of Canada’s first policies prohibiting hate speech. This victory was followed by a series of labour actions – many spearheaded by the Canadian Jewish Labour Committee – that simultaneously championed workers’ rights alongside human rights. One of the many triumphs of this movement was the introduction of a federal employment insurance program.
Embracing the ethos of togetherness that defined Toronto’s immigrant communities in the lead-up to the Christie Pits Riot is as pressingly relevant now as it was 90 years ago. Co-operation between Canadians of all stripes remains key to protecting human rights and striving toward a more economically just Canada.