The Tailor Project

Even after the Holocaust, Jews were not welcomed in Canada. The Tailor Project is the story of a remarkable program that aimed to circumvent the government's restrictive policies and give approximately 2,500 refugees, mostly Jewish tailors and their families displaced by the Holocaust, a chance at a new life. Between 1948 and 1949, Canada opened its doors for the first time to the immigration of a large number of Jewish people, offering employment and freedom through the Garment Workers' Scheme. The Tailor Project recounts the origins of the program, conceived and secretly financed by private citizens who traveled to Europe to find those most in need. And it unites the experiences of those refugees—remarkable stories of finding a haven in a new country after surviving years of persecution—to form a moving portrait of strength, survival, and triumph.