Freimans

A.J. Freiman Limited, or Freimans (/ˈfriːmənz/ FREE-mənz), was a landmark department store at 73 Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1918 by Archibald J. Freiman.

Shoppers City West and Shoppers City East.^[1]

Then owned by A.J. Freiman's son, Lawrence (who wrote a book about the store),

Byward Market is named the Freiman Mall in honour of the longtime Ottawa retailer. In addition, the laneway around the north side of the nearby National Arts Centre which provides access to the box office

has been named Lawrence Freiman Lane.

Freimans was also the centre of an important battle against anti-semitism. In the 1930s, Ottawa police officer Jean Tissot, affiliated with Adrien Arcand's fascist movement, attempted to rally Christian Canadians to boycott Jewish businesses. Freimans, as the most prominent Jewish owned business in Ottawa was at the centre of his attacks. As a result, Freiman filed suit against Tissot, who was subsequently found guilty of criminal libel. The staunch condemnations of Tissot in the mainstream press and the utter failure of his movement to find support among the people led to a sound defeat for anti-semitism in Ottawa.^[2]

Notes

^ Ward, Bruce (June 30, 2007). "Ottawa 1967". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. E2. Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
^ Powell, James (October 9, 2018). "Remember This? A.J. Freiman versus J. Tissot". CityNews. Retrieved July 20, 2022.