An Introduction to B’nai Brith

B’nai Brith’s presence in Canada extends back to 1875. It claims to be “Canadian Jewry’s most senior charitable service organization and is the national independent voice speaking out on behalf of grassroots Jewish Canadians.” It also claims to be Canada’s “oldest human rights organization.” Finally, they claim to be a leader in combating racism and “dedicated to eradicating racism, antisemitism, and hatred in all its forms, championing the rights of the marginalized while providing basic human needs for members of our community.”

Yet, as Jamila Ewais, a researcher at the Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF), stated “It’s as if criticism of Palestinian human rights activism were the whole raison d’être of B’nai Brith Canada.”

“The ARPCF points out that BBC regularly defames, stereotypes, silences, excludes, and justifies violence against Palestinians, and does not hesitate to express its support for the Israeli occupation and the dehumanization of Palestinians, with racist acts inferred from a supremacist perspective.”

B’nai Brith Canada has targeted various human rights experts and advocates including teacher Nadia Soufani, law professor Faisal Bhabha, activist Ali Mallah, MPs Niki Ashton, Charlie Angus, and Leah Gazan, lawyer and (then) UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk, and many others. This includes organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine, and Foodbenders. B’nai Brith Canada has also been the defendant in multiple defamation lawsuits including one brought by lawyer Dimitri Lascaris, and another brought by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

On the other hand, since 1982 B’nai Brith annually audits antisemitic incidents in Canada. However, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Canada and Dr. Sheryl Nestel have pointed out that “B’nai Brith’s interpretation of the state of antisemitism in Canada is misleading at best, perhaps deliberately so.”

“B’nai Brith Canada cannot be understood as a neutral source for reporting on the nature and scope of antisemitism in Canada. It has both a political and a financial interest (its fundraising relies largely on its positioning as the premier opponent of antisemitism in Canada) in touting increases in antisemitism. Of course, that alone does not make its Audit suspect. But there are serious criticisms that can be leveled against the Audit itself and against B’nai Brith’s specific claims about antisemitism in Canada. Chief among these are: inclusion of expressions of criticism of Israel as incidents of antisemitism, complete lack of methodological transparency, obfuscation of evidence of low levels of antisemitic sentiment among the Canadian public, and disregard of evidence of the attitudes about antisemitism of Canadian Jews themselves”

In reviewing police statistics, Dr. Nestel points out that: “there is almost no evidence that systemic anti-Jewish discrimination and hatred, a well- documented feature of Canadian history, continues to operate in any significant way today.”

In their 2026 analysis of the “audit,” IJV Canada said it is

“an unreliable and dangerous document. It uses the widely criticized IHRA definition to mischaracterize anti-Zionist activism and organizing as antisemitic. This document promotes anti-Palestinian racism by making it impossible for Palestinians to describe their lived experiences as Zionism’s primary victims without being accused of antisemitism, and stokes fear in Jewish communities by misrepresenting the reality of antisemitism in Canada today. Using IHRA, and giving the public a distorted view of antisemitism in this country, makes it harder to understand, and harder to fight.”

Despite the well-founded critiques, B’nai Brith is treated as a credible source by politicians, mainstream media, and other organizations.

Charitable Registration

Since 1967, B’nai B’rith has registered 45 charities with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Currently, 13 remain registered — 3 of which act as the main national organizations. The remainder have been revoked: 2 by audit, 26 for failure to file, and finally 4 voluntarily revoked their charitable status. The following post outlines the various charities, their donations over the years, and provides a brief overview of CRA’s decision to revoked two of the charities after audits.

Some key points explored below:

• The three main organizations are the League for Human Rights, B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation, and the National Organization of Canada.
• There is significant overlap in the Board of Directors for the three main organizations.
• B’nai Brith charities and associated non-profits received $9.7 million in federal government funding since 2006.
• The CRA revoked two charities by audit: the B’nai Brith Foundation District No. 22 and The League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith. They sent the Notice of Intention to Revoke (NITR) in 2014 and officially revoked the charities in 2021.
• The CRA listed the following reasons for revocation of these two charities: failing to devote its resources to charitable activites they carried on themselves, gifting to non-qualified donees, failing to be constituted exclusively for charitable purpose, failing to maintain books and records, and issuing donation receipts for directed donations

Currently Active Charities

The following chart outlines the currently active charities (total of 13). The arrows represent money flow, as reported to / by the CRA.

Currently, it appears B’nai Brith Canada operates three main national organizations:

• B’nai Brith National Organization of Canada (BN 787557495RR0001)
• B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation (BN 814122396RR0001)
• B’nai Brith of Canada League for Human Rights (BN 814128393RR0001)

It seems as though the B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation is the main fundraising arm. It provides funding to both the National Organization and the League for Human Rights. The League for Human Rights appears to be the main organization responsible for the annual audit on antisemitism.

Prior to 2015, the main organizations were the B’nai Brith Foundation District No. 22 and The League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith. However, the CRA began auditing these organizations in 2013. After receiving the NITR for both organizations in 2014, B’nai Brith set up three new organizations in 2015. These three new main organizations which carried on their activities after the original two were revoked in 2021.

The Board of Directors for both the League for Human Rights and National Organization are the same. The majority (4 of 5) also sit on the Board of the Canada Foundation. Additionally, many Board Members of the three main organizations sit on other pro-Israel organizations’ boards, such as Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University, Foundation for Public Policy Development, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, and Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University.

Several charities and other associated non-profits have also received governmental funding. Regarding solely federal funding, B’nai Brith Canada and associated organizations have received over $9.7 million since 2006.

The largest single grant went to B’nai Brith Canada (Bnai Brith Alzheimer’s Residence) for nearly $5.4 million. To our knowledge, limited information is available regarding this grant. The business number listed (106799455) is not associated with any charity in the CRA database, nor any corporation in the ISED database. The grant description is listed as “Innovative technologies, treatments, new models & approaches to care will be designed, tested, validated, and commercialized for dissemination across Canada.” No “expected results” are provided in the database.

B’nai Brith National Organization of Canada (BN 787557495RR0001)

In 2024, 25.8% of their expenses went towards fundraising, with only 68.7% going to charitable activities. Further, it spent nearly $4 million on staff compensation in 2024. This represents54.8% of all expenses.

Donations from B’nai Brith National Organization of Canada to other registered charities between 2015 and 2024

Donations to B’nai Brith National Organization of Canada from other charities between 2015 and 2025

B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation (BN 814122396RR0001)

As expected, the majority (91.3% in 2024) of the charities funds are gifts to other registered charities and qualified donees. They have approximately $2.2 million of equity. One interesting finding from their 2024 tax return is nearly half a million dollars in ‘other expenditures’.

Donations from B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation to other registered charities between 2015 and 2024

Donations to B’nai Brith of Canada Foundation from other charities between 2017 and 2025

B’nai Brith of Canada League for Human Rights (BN 814128393RR0001)

The League for Human Rights reports very limited revenue and expenditures. In 2024, both were below $40,000.

Donations to B’nai Brith of Canada League for Human Rights from other charities between 2016 and 2025

Additional 10 Orgs

Donations from 10 additional orgs to other registered charities between 2000 and 2025

Donations to the additional 10 orgs from other charities between 2000 and 2025

One of these organizations also sends money internationally: The B’nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO) sends to BBYO Inc in the US. Between 2014 and 2023, they sent sent a total of $551,489.

Revoked by Audit

The CRA sent its Notice of Intention to Revoke (NITR) to both of the following charities on June 18, 2014. However, it did not officially revoke their status until May 1, 2021. It is not clear why there was a 7-year gap between the NITR and revocation, as there is no evidence of an appeal.

The League For Human Rights Of B’nai B’rith (BN 119241776RR0001)

The CRA stated that the charity:

• Did not devote its resources to charitable activities that it carried on itself
• Gifted to non-qualified donees
• Failed to be constituted exclusively for charitable purposes
• Did not maintain adequate books and records
• Issued donation receipts for directed donations

“Overall, the Organization has not demonstrated that it is able to account for the use of its resources to carry out charitable activities under its own control and supervision where it has transferred resources to non-qualified donees. It is therefore our position that the Organization is resourcing non-qualified donees in contravention of tile Act.”

The CRA found that the Organization’s expenditures extended beyond its own programs and activities. It paid the salaries of B’nai Brith Canada’s National Director of Advocacy and its National Director of Legal Affairs. This represented approximately 16% of the Organization’s annual expenditures during the audit. In reviewing the details of each position, the CRA found they involved “delivering non-charitable activities on behalf of non-qualified donees.” The non-qualified donees included the Institute for International Affairs, Parliament Hill Office, Canada-Israel Public Affairs Committee, and B’nai Brith Canada District No. 22.

Donations to The League For Human Rights Of B’nai B’rith from other charities between 2000 and 2024

Despite being revoked in 2021, The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba continues to report charitable donations, including nearly $30,000 in 2024. However, the corporation was dissolved in 2022.

B’nai Brith Foundation District No. 22 (BN 118812106RR0001)

The CRA stated that the charity:

• Did not devote its resources to charitable activities that it carried on itself
• Gifted to non-qualified donees
• Failed to be constituted exclusively for charitable purposes
• Did not maintain adequate books and records
• Issued donation receipts for directed donations and on behalf of non-qualified donees

Interestingly, in the revocation papers, the CRA notes that:

“It is our understanding that at the time of its registration, the Organization’s primary activity was making gifts to registered charities in Canada (i.e., qualified donees). In a letter dated July 31, 1969, the CRA cautioned the Organization by stating that based on our understanding that it would not carry on its own activities but would distribute its income to other organizations, in order to meet the requirements of the At, it could only distribute its income to other recognized charitable organizations. In an October 15, 1969, letter of response, the Organization’s solicitors confirmed that the Organization’s intention was to only make grants to recognized institutions in Canada.”

The CRA found that during the audit period (2010-2011), 46-47% of the Organization’s total expenditures went to non-qualified donees. The CRA also noted that 76-80% of total expenditures went towards non-charitable activities. The non-qualified donees in this case were mainly associated B’nai Brith organizations that lacked charitable status.

Another key aspect of the audit was a finding that the Organization existed, “at least in part, to further the B’nai Brith Canada group’s political purposes by financing its political activities.” The audit revealed that the “group’s political activities include partisan political activities [and] are of such a frequency and quantity that would necessarily involve a significant devotion of resources”.

Donations from B’nai Brith Foundation District No. 22 to other registered charities between 2000 and 2013

Donations to B’nai Brith Foundation District No. 22 from other charities between 2000 and 2024

Despite being revoked in 2021, the CRA data shows they received over $106,000 between 2022 and 2024. Gifts were reported from United Way BC, The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, Morris and Rosalind Goodman Family Foundation, Albert & Temmy Latner Family Foundation, and The Beverley and Samuel H Cohen Family Foundation. It appears this Organization remains a registered non-profit. The majority of directors of the non-profit are the same directors of the three main active charities.

Revoked by Failure to File

Donations from 9 B’nai Brith charities revoked for failure to file¹to other registered charities between 2000 and 2019

Donations to 9 B’nai Brith charities revoked for failure to file to other registered charities between 2001and 2019

Revoked Voluntarily

Donations from 4 voluntarily revoked B’nai Brith charities to other registered charities between 2000 and 2012

Donations to 4 voluntarily revoked B’nai Brith charities from other charities between 2000 and 2024

Despite Ottawa Lodge being revoked in 2012, between 2013 and 2024, the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation reported donating every year for a total of $389,043.

Revocation Papers

1 In the available timeframe, we have data on the following 9 charities:

B’NAI B’RITH FOUNDATION OF MOUNT ROYAL LODGE

MONTREAL B’NAI BRITH FOOD BASKETS INC / PANIERS DE PROVISIONB’NAI BRITH DE MONTREAL INC

B’NAI B’RITH FOUNDATION OF MAPLE LEAF LODGE

B’NAI B’RITH YOUTH ORGANIZATION (LAKE ONTARIO REGION)

B’NAI B’RITH FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

B’NAI B’RITH HILLEL OF TORONTO INC

B’NAI B’RITH YOUTH OF TORONTO INC.

B’NAI B’RITH FOUNDATION OF CENTRAL CANADIAN COUNCIL

THE B’NAI B’RITH LION’S GATE NON-SECTARIAN COMMUNITY FOODBANK