Prior to World War II, Canada’s Jewish community was well established, particularly in Toronto and Montreal. As the war grew closer, reports of anti-Semitism across Europe were increasing. In the 1930s, Hitler’s Nazis were spreading hatred and violence towards Jews across Germany. At first, Jews were allowed to leave Germany and thousands escaped to save themselves and their families. Towards the end of the decade, countries around the world, including Canada, closed their doors to Jewish refugees. In 1939, the MS St. Louis sailed for Cuba with nearly a thousand Jewish men, women, and children looking for safety. They were turned away by Cuba, the USA, and Canada before they were sent back to Europe where over 250 of them were murdered. Despite pleas from the Canadian Jewish community, the government refused to allow more Jewish refugees into the country. When Britain forced Canada to take some of their refugees, Canada imprisoned them in internment camps alongside Nazis. Some of the refugees were only teenagers. After the war, it took three years for Canada to change its immigration policies and begin to accept equal numbers of Jews with other immigrants. Canada’s long history of anti-Semitic immigration policies was deemed shameful. In November, 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an official apology to the Jewish Community for Canada’s refusal to accept the passengers of the MS St. Louis, as well as its historical anti-Semitic policies.