Ontario Jewish Archives

Since 1973, the Ontario Jewish Archives (OJA), Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre has been preserving the stories of Ontario’s Jewish community. It is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada, containing millions of individual documents, photographs, films, posters, artifacts, oral histories, and architectural drawings. Reaching all the way back to the 1850s, the historical records explore virtually every aspect of Jewish daily life in Ontario. By making their collections publicly accessible, the OJA hopes that their resources can be useful to students, teachers, academics, artists, and families exploring their own heritage. 

The OJA holds a number of public events throughout the year, all relating to the education and awareness of Jewish experiences in Ontario. This includes walking tours, exhibits, podcasts, webinars, and special projects focused on acquiring new valuable materials. The OJA also partners with community organizations to hold additional educational programming and highlight under-represented Jewish identities such as Jews of Colour, the B’nai Israel community, LGBTQ2S+ Jews, and the South African Jewish community.