Kalmen Kaplansky, CM (January 5, 1912 – December 10, 1997) was a civil, human rights and trade union activist in Canada. Alan Borovoy described Kaplansky as "the zaideh" (grandfather) of the Canadian human rights movement. Kaplansky was born in Białystok in what is now Poland and emigrated to Montreal after graduating from high school in 1929. He attempted to enroll at McGill University but the university's registrar told the young Jewish immigrant that "my job is to keep people like you out of the university."