Analysis: For Canadian Jews, the question is: What now?

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He says all of this with a caveat: “It doesn’t mean that they need to pack their bags and run. It means be prepared. We’ve seen this before. And if we pretend like nothing’s happening, and we go home, and we watch our hockey games, and pretend like everything’s fine, eventually you’ll be too late, and you won’t be able to go anywhere.”

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He added: “Until regular Canadians realize the threat that they are facing, the fires will continue to burn. And the worst thing that can happen is we find a nation filled with boiled frogs.”

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Michael Teper, president of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, said the speech was the latest in a “series of slaps in the face” from the prime minister.

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All within May, Carney issued back-to-back official statements admonishing Israel, had a “cordial phone call” with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and a call to Israeli President Isaac Herzog that, by Carney’s own description, sounded like “he left the conversation having given Israel more carpet burns,” as Tepper puts it.

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The Prime Minister also chose Louise Arbour as Canada’s next governor-general. As UN human rights chief, Arbour drew sustained criticism from UN Watch and other NGOs, who argued that she repeatedly singled out Israel, lent support to a regional human‑rights charter that equates Zionism with racism, and applied double standards that, in their view, emboldened Israel’s enemies and undermined its claim to self‑defence.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s next governor general, Louise Arbour, during a media availability announcing her appointment at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, May 5, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable /Postmedia

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As such, Teper concludes the Jewish community is now on its own, in light of “betrayal after betrayal.” Of the federal funding package for security, “they threw us a little bone.”

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“We don’t need little consolation prizes,” he said. “We don’t need nickels and dimes thrown at us.”

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He said it’s time Jews took matters into their own hands. “It’s all up to us now,” said Teper. “I would like to see the community proactively mobilized, for sure.”

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“I think that what we’re failing to do is show up in large numbers … I think that this is partially the failure of our own leadership. When the encampments went up, what was the reaction? Hand-wringing and feeling terrible. But the number of people who actually showed up to confront the people involved in the encampment was minimal,” Teper told the Post.

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“It’s just that our own numbers stay home. Maybe it’s exhaustion, but we’re not, to be honest, doing our part to defend ourselves. If we want to have standing in the community, it’s not going to be given to us. We have to stand up and demand it.”

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Rabbi Yael Splansky, of Holy Blossom Temple — where Carney gave his speech — also encouraged individual action.

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“Every peace-loving, democracy-loving Canadian ought to make antisemitism their concern, and make their voices heard by their own elected leaders,” she said. “The Jewish community has been doing this work for years, but we cannot do it alone. Because antisemitism has been allowed to seep into Canadian waters, only a groundswell response can turn back the tide.”

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In a June 5 statement, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with cross-Canada signatories of United Jewish Appeal offices, said the next step is for Ottawa to “name the problem clearly … antisemitism in Canada is being driven in significant part by anti-Israel and antizionist hatred.”

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Among their recommendations is to “ensure that terrorist organizations, their proxies, and their adherents cannot operate here.” They also demanded that “public funds do not support organizations or initiatives that promote hatred against the Jewish community. This must include addressing the weaponization of national institutions, including the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.”