The first, an now only, Conservative congregation in Montreal where women are counted in the Minyan.

Shaare Zion Congregation was formed in the early 1920s when there were only about 100 Jewish families in Montreal. The Congregation was legally incorporated in March of 1926 when it received its charter from the Province of Quebec.

As the Congregation grew, Victoria Hall in Westmount became the improvised synagogue for Shabbat and Holiday services. A fire in 1939 destroyed the synagogue and the present site was purchased shortly thereafter. The first High Holyday services took place September 1947 at Shaare Zion’s present home on Cote St. Luc Road.

In 1976, a resolution instituted family (mixed) seating to commence on the High Holydays of 1976 and was overwhelmingly endorsed by the membership.

In 2000, Shaare Zion Congregation became the first Conservative congregation in Montreal where women were counted in the Minyan, permitted to have Aliyot, read from the Torah and chant the Haftarah. Shaare Zion remains the only Conservative congregation in Montreal where women are counted in the Minyan.

Originally designed by architect Charles Davis Goodman, in 1996 and ’97 there was a major renovation of Shaare Zion by architect Ted Yudelson of YZ Architects. Goodman was the architect of a number of prominent “Streamline Moderne” structures in Montreal, including the Jewish General Hospital, the 1000-room Laurentian Hotel and Ben’s De Luxe Delicatessen & Restaurant. Born in 1894, Mr. Goodman passed away in 1962.