A fire destroyed Montreal’s Mimimelon kosher bakery early Wednesday, November 4, in the second suspected arson attack on the business within 48 hours. The Jewish-owned bakery was unoccupied during both incidents, and neither fire caused any reported injuries.
Montreal police said there was no evidence yet establishing antisemitism as the motive. Both the arson and hate crimes units have nevertheless been assigned to the investigation because of the bakery’s connections to the Jewish community.
Co-owner Jennie Volfson said the first incident occurred on Monday night, November 2. A security alert indicated that someone was trying to open the bakery’s rear door. After checking the security cameras and seeing flames, she called police and firefighters. Crews brought that fire under control, limiting the damage to the business.
Another alert arrived around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Volfson said. This time, the camera feed showed a flash of light followed by what she described as “an explosion,” before the video stopped. The ensuing blaze could not be contained, she said, leaving the bakery destroyed.
Volfson, who runs Mimimelon with her husband and father-in-law, said the extent of the destruction left the business’s future uncertain. After reviewing the security footage, she believed someone had managed to enter the premises, possibly through a door damaged during the earlier incident. That account reflected her interpretation of the footage.
The bakery is in Saint-Laurent, a historically Jewish neighborhood, and has previously experienced antisemitic incidents. In September, a masked man entered the shop, shouted “All the Jews will burn,” and fled. Volfson also described people shouting offensive remarks as they passed the business, particularly around October 7. She said the owners had remained especially vigilant throughout the Jewish High Holidays.
The fires come amid a reported increase in antisemitic incidents in Quebec. B’nai Brith’s 2026 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found that the number nearly tripled from 2025 to 2026. Separately, a Montreal kosher restaurant was gutted by a fire in August that police investigated as arson.
In a post on X, Paola Samuel, B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, urged law enforcement across the country to consider possible hate motives when Jewish homes or businesses are targeted. She said rising antisemitic incidents meant such a motive could not be excluded. Volfson said Mimimelon had operated for 11 years and served a niche market with little competition, leaving her struggling to understand why the business had been targeted.
