Distressed by news of the persecution of German Jews, Canadian Jews organized their own campaign to boycott the 1936 Olympics. Small and politically insecure, the Canadian Jewish community hoped to persuade sports writers and other influential figures in amateur sport to join in opposition to Canada’s participation in the Games.

The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), first established in 1919, took the lead in organizing the Olympic boycott campaign. As the “parliament” of Canadian Jewry, the CJC combated antisemitism and previously organized a boycott of German goods and services.

In September and November 1935 the Nazis enacted the Nuremberg Laws, which stripped Jews of their citizenship. Declaring that German Jewish athletes were not being justly treated, Member of Parliament and President of Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) Samuel Jacobs wrote to the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada and called on them to refuse to participate in the 1936 Olympics.