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The story of the Jewish community in Ottawa is a story of survival. As new Jewish immigrants who had recently fled pogroms and economic hardship arrived in Ottawa, they encountered freedom from oppression and fresh opportunities to establish family businesses. Through a combination of hard work, cohesive religious traditions and the presence of early social services, the Ottawa Jewish community flourished over the years in an atmosphere of relative tolerance and optimism. This virtual exhibit presents historical images and information about Jewish families and the businesses they established in Lowertown from the late 1800s to the middle of the 20th century. The Jewish population of Ottawa ballooned from 20 families in 1889 to approximately 5,500 in 1961. Jewish merchants dominated Ottawa’s Byward Market between the First and the Second World Wars. Throughout the Market area there were many kinds of Jewish-owned-and-operated businesses from produce merchants, butcher shops, bakeries, dairies, furniture stores, corner groceries, pawn shops, second hand shops, furriers, importers, wholesalers to jewellers, etc.
The storylines presented in this exhibit are neither comprehensive nor conclusive; they simply offer a glimpse of what life was like in Lowertown in the first half of the 20th century. Most of the material used in the exhibit is held in the Ottawa Jewish Archives but a significant number of photographs were obtained from family members. The Ottawa Jewish Archives is extremely grateful for their participation and support. The exhibit can be viewed as a gallery of images or explored through the “Stories” section of the site, which presents the material in a narrative form. Nine storylines document Jewish businesses along various streets of Lowertown including Rideau, William and Mosgrove. Please view the IMMIGRATION, PEDDLING, HIDES, FUR & FURRIERS and CHANGES IN LOWERTOWN storylines to learn about a few of the Jewish families who arrived in Ottawa, worked extremely hard and built a new life for themselves and their children.
