None is Too Many is the story of Jewish immigration to Canada during the years of 1933 to 1948, from roughly the time of ascendance of the Nazi party in Germany until the British abandoned the Palestinian mandate. More accurately stated, it is the story the seemingly endless barriers, large and small to immigration, and the inability of either the international community or the Canadian Jewish population to change Canadian policies, official and unofficial, towards allowing Jews fleeing from Europe to enter Canada.

Abella and Troper have compiled a detailed account of this particular story. Not being Canadian made it a bit challenging for me in the early chapters, as it took a while for me to develop an understanding of how the Canadian bureaucracy is organized and functions. Throughout the book they tell of government bias against Jewish immigration. The Canadian government was opposed to allowing large numbers of Jewish immigrants, however for a large part of the time period covered in the book there was a bias against almost all immigrant groups, except from Great Britain and a few other locales.

They also demonstrate a lack of cohesion among various Jewish aid organizations. Organizations frequently sparred with each other, at the expense of taking advantage of the limited opportunities that had to facilitate Jews in leaving Europe for Canada. Immigration policy did not change until after the war, when it became apparent that there would not be a post-war depression, but rather an economic boom. At that time immigration rules were greatly liberalized so that workers could enter the country. Simultaneously Israel became an independent country, with hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees being able to leave post-war refugee camps for a country that freely welcomed all Jews.

A criticism I have of this book is that Abella and Troper don't appear to give much credence to the fact that Canada was no different than any other country in determining who may move there as a permanent resident. There seemed to be a persistent sense that Canada should have allowed liberal amounts of immigration, because the authors felt it was both possible and morally right, without recognizing that sovereign countries act in what they perceive to be their own best interests, even to the occasional chagrin of their own citizens. ( )

"To the condemned Jews of Auschwitz, Canada had a special meaning. It was the name given to the camp barracks where the food, clothes, gold, diamonds, jewelry and other goods taken from prisoners were stored. It represented life, luxury and salvation; it was a Garden of Eden in Hell; it was also unreachable.
In effect, the barracks at Auschwitz symbolized what Canada was to all the Jews of Europe throughout the 1930s and 1940s-- a paradise, enormous, wealthy, overflowing and full of life; but out of bounds, a haven totally inaccessible. Why Canada was closed to the Jews of Europe is the subject of this book. It is a story summed up best in the words of an anonymous senior Canadian official who, in the midst of a rambling, off-the-record discussion with journalists in early 1945, was asked how many Jews would be allowed into Canada after the war. His response seems to reflect the prevailing view of a substantial number of his fellow citizens: "None," he said, "is too many." From the preface of the book.