History of the Jews in Ottawa
aspect of history
The Jewish community in Ottawa grew rapidly between the 1850s and the early 20th century, settling mainly in the Lower Town area. According to the census, the Jewish population went from a mere 4 people in 1861 to 398 by 1901, and then grew to 1,776 by 1911, continuing to rise. Jewish traders became predominant in the ByWard Market. Various organizations were formed within the community to help newer immigrants.
History
Immigration and Ottawa’s Jewish pioneers
Jewish immigration to Canada heavily increased between 1850 and 1939 with the rise of anti-Semitism and pogroms in Eastern Europe. The first Jewish immigrants who settled in Ottawa arrived between 1857 and 1889. "The Jewish population of Ottawa doubled its size approximately five times between 1901 and 1911". Although it is difficult to identify the first Jewish immigrant to Ottawa, some of the earliest were:
Moses Bilsky
Moses Bilsky was originally from Lithuania. He established his home in Lowertown in 1867 and opened a jewellery and pawn shop on Rideau Street. Bilsky was also a philanthropist and founder of Ottawa's first synagogue, Adath Jeshuran.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “History of the Jews in Ottawa” as aspect of history. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as aspect of history. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 26, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q17013139. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1861, 1901, 1911 and 1850.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “History of the Jews in Ottawa”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow History of the Jews in Ottawa primary sources, History of the Jews in Ottawa archive and History research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “History of the Jews in Ottawa”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “History of the Jews in Ottawa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.