Prince George is a city located in central British Columbia, where the Fraser and Nechako rivers meet. With a city population of over 76,000 residents, Prince George has been given the moniker of British Columbia’s “Northern Capital.” It has a long history of serving as a fur-trading outpost and rail stop for the Grand Trunk railway.
While Prince George does not boast a significant Jewish population today, the number of Jews living in and contributing to British Columbia continues to increase.
Most notably, Prince George can be credited with electing the first schoolboard chairwoman in Hannah Director. In the school year 1917/1918, Ms. Director became the first recorded Jewish Canadian woman ever elected to public office.
Ms. Director and her family proved to be prominent members of the small Jewish community located in northern British Columbia. Their family started a local kahal and named themselves Beit Yaacov.
This significant achievement by Ms. Director has set the stage for future Jewish Canadians to run for public office and continue a long history of contributions to British Columbia and Canada.
We commend Mayor Simon Yu for a prompt release of the proclamation declaring May 2023 to be Jewish Heritage Month in Prince George.