Canada’s worst race riot was 88 years ago today

A panel from Jamie Michaels’s graphic novel, “Christie Pits”.

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Just a few months after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, in the midst of a global depression, the dictator’s ideas were already taking hold in some parts of Canada. By the summer, pro-Nazi agitators showed up to a baseball game where a Jewish team was facing off against a Protestant team. Agitators unfurled a big banner with a swastika on it, and citywide violence ensued: within hours, an estimated 10,000 people were slugging it out, both in the park itself and in nearby neighbourhoods across Toronto.

To mark this anniversary, The CJN Daily podcast is joined by Eli Yarhi of Historica Canada, which recently published a short video about the event, and Jamie Michaels, the author of a graphic novel about the riot.

Plus: There’s a federal election happening on Sept. 20. That’s 36 days away—double chai. Will this be an auspicious election for Jewish Canadians? Hear what The CJN Daily has planned for the next month of coverage.

Watch the full length video of the podcast here:

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What we talked about:

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.