Why the OJA matters

By preserving personal and organizational records, the OJA ensures that the memories, contributions, and experiences of Ontario’s Jewish communities are not lost to time. Each document helps build diverse understandings of provincial history—and adds voices to the mosaic of Canada.

why-the-OJA-matters

What we do

Your donations help preserve the stories 
of Jewish life in Ontario.

Preservation & Access

Visitors and researchers access these items by appointment, after they’ve been processed and catalogued.

Research & Support

Researchers from fields, including academics, curators, and documentary producers, utilize our collections.

Public Exhibitions

We make archival material engaging through campus displays, walking tours, school programs, and online offerings.

Community Engagement

We encourage sharing of archival discoveries and stories and invite contributions of records or volunteer time to enrich our collections.

Year

Description

1971

The Toronto Jewish Historical Society (TJHS) created an archives committee to start preserving records of Toronto’s Jewish community.

1973

The Central Region of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) partnered with TJHS to expand the scope across Ontario. That year, the Archives formally launched under the name Canadian Jewish Congress Central Region Archives.

1977

The Archives became a legal corporation under the Federal Corporations Act, adopting the name Ontario Jewish Archives Foundation, though it continued to use the public name OJA.

1992

The archives were transferred to the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation. From then on, the public name Ontario Jewish Archives (OJA) was consistently used.

2014

Following a generous endowment by the Blankenstein family, the public designation was expanded to Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre.