International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

Numerous political and community leaders from Montreal and the rest of Canada have signed onto a letter by United Against Hate Canada’s Marvin Rotrand urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to have Canada seek the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for 2027 or 2028.

Numerous countries, provinces and cities, though not Montreal, have signed on to the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. Israel currently holds the presidency of the IHRA until Feb. 26, 2026, followed by Argentina until the end of February 2027.

Some of the notable local signatories to the UAH letter include Rotrand himself, former MPs Marlene Jennings and Frank Baylis, Côte St. Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein, Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson, CDN-NDG councillor Sonny Moroz, English Montreal School Board chairman Joe Ortona and EMSB commissioner Julien Feldman; CJAD broadcasters Andrew Carter, Elias Makos and Aaron Rand, and many others.

The letter from UHA Canada asks Carney, during the June 23 IHRA plenary session in Jerusalem, to “mandate our delegation to alert the plenary of Canada’s desire to seek the Presidency of IHRA for 2027 or 2028.”

The letter adds that the Canadian government’s recent National Forum to Combat Antisemitism was a “welcome reaction to an unprecedented wave of antisemitism that Canada has witnessed over the last 18 months.”

Rotrand’s letter also noted Carney’s campaign promise to “fight the horrifying rise in hate and protect our communities, including by increasing funding to the Canada Community Security Program and introducing legislation to make it a criminal offence to intentionally and willfully obstruct access to any place of worship, schools, and community centres; and a criminal offence to willfully intimidate or threaten those attending services at these locations.”

While UAH welcomed these promised measures, the organization and the letter’s signatories added that it believes “they can be reinforced by strengthening Canada’s presence within IHRA and launching the process to ultimately obtain the Presidency.

‘We strongly believe that having Canada act as Chair will aid stakeholders in our country to significantly advance Holocaust remembrance, combat Holocaust denial and distortion while building effective tools to blunt the unprecedented wave of hate targeting Jews in Canada.”

Canada making its interest known “in obtaining the Presidency known at this June’s plenary is an important step,” the signatories wrote.

“Canada must build a bid that will win the confidence of IHRA’s members so that when the plenary next year chooses the presiding nations for 2027 and 2028, we will be solidly in the running. Making known the support of civil society for this proposal can only help to move it forward. Announcing our intentions this June alerts the world that we will do whatever it takes to blunt antisemitism.” n