A new national survey of Jewish voters in Canada, conducted by Leger, commissioned by JSpaceCanada, the New Israel Fund of Canada, and Canadian Friends of Peace Now, and designed by Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, offers an in-depth look how Canadian Jews view their relationship with Israel and their own Jewish community.
The 2025 Survey of Canadian Jews surveyed 502 self-identified Jewish voters between November 4-19, 2025.
It found that a majority of Canadian Jews (53%) oppose settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as the Israeli government announces 19 new West Bank settlements and legalized outposts. Opposition to settlements extends well beyond the political left, reaching into the centre and parts of the right.
66% support the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and support for Canadian sanctions on violent settlers has risen from 35% in 2024 to 43% in 2025. On the war in Gaza, a clear majority of Canadian Jews take a defensive view of Israel. More than 70% justify the war as self-defence, hostage recovery, or a conventional military conflict, and reject claims of genocide or intentional starvation.
A smaller but significant minority, between 17% - 25%, strongly criticize Israel’s conduct, with sharper criticism concentrated among the firm left, Reform Jews, and NDP voters.
Beyond the war, and looking at the larger picture, a majority (52%) still support a two-state solution, with support rising to 62% when statehood is framed within a regional normalization and security framework involving Arab states and international guarantees.
Support for Israeli democracy emerges as one of the strongest points of unity. Three-quarters of respondents believe Israel is a democracy, yet nearly half say the government’s judicial reforms threaten that democracy. Large majorities agree that Canada and Canadian Jews should actively support democracy in Israel, and pro-democracy movements rank among the most important causes the community should back, at 82%.
“Despite the past two years of war and a defensive position to it, the Canadian Jewish community is still engaged, diverse, and supportive of firm, values-based advocacy on democracy, settlements, and long-term peace, particularly when framed around balance, security, and shared Jewish and democratic values,” said Maytal Kowalski, Executive Director of JSpaceCanada. “By polling our community year after year we show that Canadian Jews remain diverse and passionate about the issues that matter most to us. Efforts to flatten this diversity, whether from within our Jewish institutions or the media silence voices that represent a plurality or majority consensus.”
“Canadian Jews are watching anxiously about the decline of democracy in Israel,” said Ben Murane, the Executive Director of the New Israel Fund of Canada. “This survey shows that most Canadian Jews want their government and Jewish institutions to support Israelis fighting to preserve Israeli democracy – with Canadian policy and with charitable dollars.”
“For decades, Peace Now has argued that Israel’s future depends on a negotiated two-state solution and an end to settlement expansion,” said Gabriella Goliger, National Chair of Canadian Friends of Peace Now. “Canadian Friends of Peace Now is heartened to see that a majority of Canadian Jews—including many on the right—share this view, even as the Netanyahu government works to block the possibility of two states. The need for peace built on compromise by both sides has never been more urgent.”