JNS
Neil Oberman talks to JNS about his advocacy for the Jewish community and Israel—and the upcoming elections in Canada.
Neil Oberman is the Conservative Party for Canada candidate challenging incumbent Anthony Housefather, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, to be an MP for Mount Royal in the House of Commons. As Canada is set to hold general elections on April 28, the race in Mount Royal— which has a large Jewish population—could be key because Liberals have held the riding since 1940.
A lawyer by trade, Oberman has emerged as a passionate and deeply committed advocate for the Canadian Jewish community, of which he is a prominent member. After Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, he helped create the Quebec Jewish Legal Alliance, a group of more than 300 lawyers, notaries and other professionals across the province to advance the rights of the Jewish community and combat antisemitism.
He is a firm advocate for restoring the rule of law and safety and security for all, a believer in lower taxes, affordable housing, food security and balanced federal budgets.
In a sit-down interview with JNS at his campaign office in Montreal, Oberman, who is Jewish, explained that he was chosen by Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada since 2022, as the candidate for the Mount Royal riding, hoping for a historic upset.
“I believe Pierre Poilievre has a vision for Canada that supports our community, supports our riding and supports the values that I stand by,” Oberman told JNS.
“We are Canadians, we are respectful, we have a right to dignity and prosperity. Our children have a right to go to school without being terrorized. We need to be able to get more out of our paychecks, have affordable housing and ensure that people are able to buy food, house themselves, educate themselves and get good medical care. All of which have been absent under the Trudeau government,” he added.
In March 2024, Oberman successfully obtained injunctive relief to protect over 30 Jewish institutions, community buildings and synagogues from pro-Hamas demonstrations, intimidation and other acts of aggression.
“We will no longer accept that our children can’t go to school, that being Jewish is something we need to hide. I reject it. More importantly, people I know reject it—Jews and non-Jews,” he said.
In September, he also obtained injunctive relief to prevent protesters from blocking entrances and intimidating and threatening Jewish and non-Jewish students, clubs and organizations at Concordia University.
“People will not be able to come here from foreign countries and not check their bags at the front door when it comes to hate. We will no longer tolerate it. We will defund universities. They will not get a single penny from the federal government until they clean up their universities,” he said.
As for the current Canadian-Israeli relationship, Oberman said of the current Canadian government, “It’s not only about Israel, but if they treat one of their best friends like that, just imagine the way they’ll treat people they are not really good friends with.”
Q: Could you share some background on your personal and professional history?
I am a born and bred Canadian, Montrealer by birth, married. I have one son and one adopted dog. I am a lawyer, and in the last 18 months, Michael Hollander and I have been working very aggressively to help students here in Montreal go back to school in a peaceful, serene environment.
We have also been involved in handling legal proceedings in favor of the Jewish community in order to stop pro-Hamas protesters from attacking institutions such as nursery schools, elementary schools, synagogues, community centers because of what is happening in Israel pre-Oct. 7, but also because of a disdain for the Jewish community which existed prior to Oct. 7 and will unfortunately exist thereafter.
In my professional life, I am a partner at the firm of Spiegel Ryan here in Montreal; I practice in the area of commercial civil litigation. I am an accredited mediator, former governor of the Fondation du Barreau du Québec. I have been practicing for 30 years.
Personally, I am a very simple guy; I like my private time. I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, but lately it’s been very difficult because of the polarization of Canada. Canada is now either on the right or the left, it’s very little in the middle.
Q: Why did you decide to enter the race?
One of the reasons I came to be a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada is that I believe Pierre Poilievre has a vision for Canada that supports our community, supports our riding and supports the values that I stand by.
Those are very simple values. We are Canadians, we are respectful, we have a right to dignity and prosperity. Our children have a right to go to school without being terrorized by people. We need to be able to get more out of our paychecks, have affordable housing and ensure that people are able to buy food, house themselves, educate themselves, get good medical care, all of which have been absent under the Trudeau government.
The Trudeau government is now the Carney-Trudeau government in that 87% of Carney’s Cabinet are Trudeau's people.
(Justin Trudeau announced in January that he would resign as Canadian prime minister after his replacement assumes control. In March, Mark Carney won more than 85% of the Liberal party votes to succeed Justin Trudeau as the Canadian prime minister and has been leading the country since. On April 28, Canada will be holding a federal election.)
The reality is that in this riding for eight decades, it’s been a Liberal red mailbox. In every election, people just put their white envelope into the red mailbox, but nobody picks up the mail from the Liberal Party. They leave the mail stacking generation after generation.
We’ve become hostage to a way of thinking, and I reject it. Change is required, change is needed. Change is the motto of our campaign.
I knock on thousands of doors, and the first thing I say is, "Are you ready for change?" The minute they say they are, I know I can go to the next door. Change for you might mean being able to go to school without being hampered. Change for Mister Joe may be getting a paycheck that goes further than it goes. Change for Tony might be being able to buy a home. Change has different meanings for different people in different areas and at different times, but change for me means being safe, secure and prosperous. It’s a very simple thing.
Q: Why is this riding important for local Jews and global Jewry?
Thirty percent of this riding is composed of people who are Jewish. It has a total electorate of approximately 77,000 to 80,000 people. There are approximately 23,000 registered voters who are Jewish. It is a big Jewish population. It is the second-biggest in Canada, and it’s a community of diversity of business, diversity of spirit and diversity of culture.
We have Ashkenazis, Sephardis, French people and people from all over the world who came here for a better life. This is a bellwether type of riding; it will send a strong message across Canada of how Jews feel and think about their government. It’s not even a campaign anymore; it's a movement.
At the campaign launch, I expected 30 or 40 people. There were 150 people lined up at the door. Why? Not for me. I’m just a messenger, but because people demand change.
They are abused, overtaxed and mistreated. Their dignity has been taken away from them, and then the Liberal government asks them to put the white envelope into the red mailbox. This is why this riding will send the strongest of messages that we will no longer accept the marginalization of our community, we will no longer accept being overtaxed and underrepresented.
We will no longer accept that our children can’t go to school, that being Jewish is something we need to hide. I reject it. More importantly, people I know reject it, Jews, non-Jews. Anybody who thinks that what happens to Jews only happens to Jews is gravely mistaken. What happens to Jews will happen to everybody else; we are canaries in the coal mine.
Bad things that happen to us will eventually happen to other people. I deal with people in this riding who are cultural minorities, Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Hindus. They don’t even like what is going on because they see that if the Jewish community who is supposed to be prosperous and powerful can be abused so badly, then what about a poor person who works three jobs, has a bad paycheck, can’t put gas in their car or food on their table. If it happens to us, it for sure can happen to them.
Q: What do you intend to do about the explosion of antisemitism in Canada post-Oct. 7?
The policies of the Conservative Party of Canada are clear, precise and very powerful. We reject it. The law will be enforced. People will not be able to come here from foreign countries and not check their bags at the front door when it comes to hate. We will no longer tolerate it. We will defund universities. They will not get a single penny from the federal government until they clean up their universities.
Students who are here on students visas, who are not studying and who are participating actively in order to destroy minorities, communities, we will first identify them, we will then apply the law through due process, then if a tribunal or other regulatory body decides they are not in conformity with their permit or visas, they will be deported.
As an officer of the court, I uphold justice; due process is required. We can’t just pick people up on the streets, put them in a van and then drive them out of the country. We are Canada; we are a country of laws, a country where the principles of law apply and if I were ever to be in a position of power, rest assured that the law will apply in equal fashion. Even if you hate me, I’ll still give you the benefit of the law.
Q: What do you think of the Liberal Party’s approach to Israel post-Oct. 7?
The way they treat Israel is the way they treat other allies. It’s not only about Israel, but if they treat one of their best friends like that, just imagine the way they’ll treat people they are not really good friends with.
The country of Canada has always been known as a beacon of light internationally that respects international law. We support our partners and allies. This government, its officers, its agents, its affiliates and its successors, all are derelict, derelict in their duty to our country, derelict internationally, derelict to our constitution and to our citizens.
They are not competent and not serious. Who in their right mind would stop supporting an ally in the Middle East who is the only beacon of light there for democracy? What message does that send to Canadians?
They just [announced] $100 million of Canadian taxpayer dollars to organizations, not knowing how the money will be used and not being able to explain why they are sending it. Then, they look at Canadians that are struggling to put food on their table, gas in their car, and say put the white paper in the red mail box.
When the Conservative Party of Canada becomes the next government under Pierre Poilievre and when I am a member of parliament, sitting at the Cabinet table—because this riding deserves a seat at the big table—it will not be happening.
I am a lawyer by trade, I have a masters of international law, I have traveled the world, I have been to Israel, I am a Zionist, I am a democrat, I am a constitutionalist and I reject this poor narrative of people who have no clue on how to run a government.
On April 28, 2025, Canada will be reborn with a proper, respectful government that will take control of the streets, the budget and our future. Canada will be a way better place.
Q: Your party was endorsed by Canadian Women Against Antisemitism (CWAA). Did this come as a surprise?
They have asked me to come speak next week. I will speak to any group. I am not a one-issue candidate. I speak to people in this riding who are Muslim, Christian, Hindu. I speak for all the minorities, not just the Jewish community, because while I might be Jewish, I am not the Jewish candidate; I am the Conservative candidate and we are a diverse party of inclusion where everybody has a seat around the table.
While today, we are talking about people of the Jewish faith, tomorrow I will speak to people who are of the Hindu faith, who are of the Muslim or Christian faith, or people with no faith at all, because Canadians deserve members of the parliament that don’t play politics with their lives.
I am a person, a father, a son, a husband and a concerned citizen. While I don’t have the experience of being in parliament and the experience of wrecking our economy and wrecking our kids’ future, I reject that kind of experience.
I am a hard-working person. I have done every job under the sun. I work for a living. I paid my way through university, I helped my parents, I helped my extended family. I love my community. More than anything else, I love Canada and I will not sit idly by for another millisecond while they destroy the fabric of our society that has been built with the sweat and tears of many Canadians only because they want to placate a small group within their group of elitist, leftist who want to destroy what we have built.
I reject it, the Canadians reject it, and April will be the moment of full rejection of this divisive party.
Q: After campaigning and knocking on thousands of doors, do you feel like Oct. 7 was sort of a wake-up call for the community?
Yes and no. Yes, because the effect of it in Canada and in Montreal has been worse than anywhere else in Canada, Montreal is the most antisemitic and anti-democratic place for those people to thrive in and try to to push their narrative on to every public building, private or public space for the purposes of ensuring that they destroy what Canada is built for.
Oct. 7 just gave them ignited hope to continue with their hate. The people I speak to don’t like the Liberal Party, they don’t like their agents, successors or affiliates because they sat idly by.
The great government of Canada under the Liberal Party, inclusive of the NDP coalition, decided to use the most draconian legislation which is called the Emergency Measure Act which is the precursor of the War Measure Act, which has not been used since the 1970s here in Quebec.
They used it against a bunch of people urinating on sidewalks, blocking streets, honking their horns. In nothing but two weeks, they invoked this particular measure which is a most extreme piece of legislation in Canadian society, they arrested people, they detained and charged people, froze their bank accounts yet Hamas supporters, IRGC members, are running around our country, fundraising through Samidoun and a whole bunch of other charities and the government of Canada has not blocked any accounts, not arrested or stopped one terrorist.
So when people in our community say they love the liberal government, I say ‘where do you live? They have done nothing to support or protect you. When they use the most draconian legislation to clamp down on Canadians but don’t do it to clamp down on haters who are blocking universities, it just shows how little power we have as citizens.
We should not put the blame on the government alone, we should put it on universities also, they are derelict, incompetent, their moral compass is broken.
Do you know how many students I hear from every day saying they can’t go to school? The teachers even are harassing them and putting garbage on their desks. Our children are stronger than anybody.
It’s time to wake up, because if this doesn’t stop now and we put these people back in the government, shame on the Jews for doing that, because if the Jews vote for the liberal party, they vote for their demise. I reject it, they should reject it. People will take their destiny in their own hands, your vote, your future, your life, go out and vote on April 28th.
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your platform and some of the issues that are important to you?
My platform is the platform of the Conservative Party of Canada. It’s to build a strong country that is self-reliant, that uses its natural resources respectfully, that makes sure that when people commit a crime, they go to jail.
People need homes to live in. When people have homes, they feel part of a society, they have more inclination to work hard and their children see that hard work pays off. We need to balance our budget. These people in Ottawa, the liberal NDP coalition of destruction, spent billions over the budget, broke the guardrails. Nobody has a problem with it.
These people have been spending my money, my friends’ money, my community’s money, my riding’s money on things we don’t even know about, hence the reason they spent a $100 million for something that has no value to Canadians. It's a dereliction of duty.
In the local riding of Mount Royal, our Member of Parliament has not sat in the Cabinet. We have no voice, they don’t respect us. Our voice will come back; it will be strong, it will be heard and it will send a message. We are not to be disrespected as a riding, as a country, as a community, as a people. It is unacceptable.
