David Lewis (politician)

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David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)
In office
1962 election – 1963 election
Riding York South
Preceded by William G. Beech
Succeeded by Marvin Gelber
Born June 23, 1909
Swislocz, Poland
Died May 23, 1981
Political party

New Democratic Party

Profession(s) Barrister, lawyer
In office
1965 election – 1974 election
Preceded by Marvin Gelber
Succeeded by Ursula Appolloni


David Lewis (born Loch), CC, MA (June 23, 1909-May 23, 1981) was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and politician. He was national secretary of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and, with Stanley Knowles, was one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961.

Lewis was born in the town of Svisloch in Russia to a Jewish family active in the Bund. He and his family emigrated to Montreal in 1921 where he grew up and attended McGill University. He won a Rhodes Scholarship and went to study at the University of Oxford where he became president of the Oxford Union. He was active in the British Labour Party and was offered a safe parliament seat in the British House of Commons but declined and returned to Canada to practise law.

M.J. Coldwell and David Lewis looking over some papers together
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M.J. Coldwell and David Lewis looking over some papers together

An active member of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, Lewis became the party's national secretary in 1936 and was for many years the party's sole paid employee. He ran for the Canadian House of Commons in 1940, 1943, 1945 and 1949 but was defeated on each occasion. In the 1943 by-election in Cartier, Quebec, he lost to Fred Rose (politician) who became Canada's first and only Member of Parliament (MP) for the Communist Party of Canada).

Lewis resigned as national secretary in 1950 and moved to Toronto to practise law in partnership with Ted Jolliffe. He became the chief legal advisor to the United Steel Workers of America's Canadian division, and assisted them in their organising efforts and in their battles with the Communist-led Mine, Mill union.

Lewis was elected as a Member of Parliament from 1962 to 1963 and 1965 to 1974. He established himself as one of the leading debaters in the House of Commons. In 1971, he ran to succeed retiring NDP leader Tommy Douglas, and won the leadership convention. He led the NDP through the 1972 federal election in which he uttered his best known quotation calling Canadian corporations "corporate welfare bums". That election campaign returned a minority government and elected the greatest number of NDP MPs until 1988, and left the NDP holding the balance of power until 1974. Lewis and the NDP propped up the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau in exchange for the implementation of NDP proposals such as the creation of Petro-Canada as a crown corporation.

In the 1974 election, however, Lewis lost his seat in Parliament, leading him to resign as party leader. It was revealed immediately after the election that he had been battling cancer. It is reported that Lewis had kept everyone, including his family, unaware of his condition. In 1976, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

David Lewis died in 1981. He is the father of Stephen Lewis, a former Ontario New Democratic Party leader who is now the United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Those related to Lewis include:

Preceded by:
Tommy Douglas
New Democratic Party of Canada leaders
1971-1975
Succeeded by:
Ed Broadbent
Preceded by:
William G. Beech, Prog. Cons.
Member of Parliament for York South (first time)
1962-1963
Succeeded by:
Marvin Gelber, Liberal
Preceded by:
Marvin Gelber, Liberal
Member of Parliament for York South (second time)
1965-1974
Succeeded by:
Ursula Appollini, Liberal


Leaders of the CCF/NDP
Woodsworth | Coldwell | Argue | Douglas | Lewis | Broadbent | McLaughlin | McDonough | Layton