David Lewis (politician)

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David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)

David Lewis circa 1970
Leader of the New Democratic Party
In office
1971 – 1975
Preceded by Tommy Douglas
Succeeded by Ed Broadbent
Constituency Canada
Federal Member of Parliament
In office
1962 – 1963
Preceded by William G. Beech, Progressive Conservative
Succeeded by Marvin Gelber, Liberal
Constituency York South
Majority 3,678 plurality
Federal Member of Parliament
In office
1965 – 1974
Preceded by Marvin Gelber, Liberal
Succeeded by Ursula Appolloni, Liberal
Constituency York South
Born June 23 or October, 1909[1]
Svisloch, Russia
Died May 23, 1981
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
& New Democratic Party
Spouse Sophie Lewis, nee Carson
Children Stephen Lewis, Michael Lewis, Janet Solberg, Nina Libeskind
Residence Toronto/Ottawa, Ontario
Occupation Lawyer
Religion Jewish
  1. ^ Smith,p.93


David Lewis (born Losz)[2] , CC, MA (June 23, or October 1909 -May 23, 1981)[3] [4] was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and, with Stanley Knowles, was one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. He was the NDP's national leader from 1971 to 1975.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Lewis was born in the town of Svisloch in Russia to Moishe and Rose Losz,[5] a Jewish family active in the Jewish Labour Bund. He and his family emigrated to Montreal in 1921 where he grew up. He attended Baron Byng High School where he met his wife, Sophie Carson, and poet A.M. Klein.[6] He founded the Montreal chapter of the Young People's Socialist League or YPSL (commonly pronounced "Yipsel") where he was a mentor to poet Irving Layton.[7] He attended McGill University and completed a B.A. and also attended Law School in his fifth year there.

[edit] Rhodes Scholar

He won a Rhodes Scholarship and went on to study at the University of Oxford where he became president of the Oxford Union and the Labour Club. Along with fellow Canadian Rhodes Scholar, Ted Jolliffe, they fought the Communist Red October club and facists like Lord Haw-Haw–William Joyce.[8] Both he and Lewis planned a 'silent' protest at Joyce's February 1934 speech at Oxford. They carefully made sure that enough members from the Labour Club attended the meeting, and then in groups of two or three, strategically walked out of the speech, across the gymnasium's creaking wooden floors, effectively blotting out Joyce's speech.[9] The Blackshirts in the audience then caused riots in the street after the meeting and Jolliffe and Lewis were in the thick of it.[10] He was active in the 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
M.J. Coldwell and David Lewis looking over some papers together

[edit] CCF's Formative years

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).

[edit] Private Labour Law practice

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.

[edit] 1962: Finally elected to House of Commons

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.

[edit] Leader of the NDP

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.

[edit] Awards and death

In 1976, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

David Lewis completed his memoirs, The Good Fight: Political Memoirs 1909–1958 in 1981. He died shortly thereafter on May 23,1981. 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, and Michael Lewis, former Ontario New Democratic Party Secretary, and a leading organizer in the NDP. He is also the father of Janet Solberg, former president of the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1980s.

Those related to Lewis include:

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ Smith,p.93
  2. ^ Smith 1989, p. 93
  3. ^ Smith 1989, p. 93
  4. ^ His actual date of birth is unknown. When he emigrated from Russia to Canada in 1921, he did not speak English, and according to David's daughter Janet Solberg, June 23 was the first date that popped into his head when the immigration officer asked him when he was born. (Smith,p.93,542) As Smith points out in his book, October is a best guess, since the only specifics given were that he was born "right after the first snows in 1909". (Smith,p.93,542)
  5. ^ His family anglicized Losz to Lewis when they came to Canada in 1921.
  6. ^ Smith 1989, p. 147
  7. ^ Smith, pp. 149 & 155-156
  8. ^ Smith, p. 195
  9. ^ Smith, p.195
  10. ^ Smith, p.195



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 Appolloni, Liberal


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