Samuel Factor (Canadian politician)
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Samuel (Sam) Factor, KC (October 26, 1892 - August 21, 1962) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and jurist and the first Jewish Member of Parliament elected to the Canadian House of Commons from Toronto.[1]
Born in Tsarist Russia, Factor's family settled in Toronto.
Factor was elected to the Toronto School Board in the early 1920s before winning an aldermanic seat on Toronto City Council. In 1930 he was elected to the House of Commons as the Liberal MP for Toronto West Centre, a riding the was home to much of Toronto's Jewish population as well as many other recent immigrants. He defeated former Mayor of Toronto Tommy Church in what had been a Conservative riding bucking a national trend in the 1930 federal election that saw the Conservatives defeating the incumbent Liberal government of William Lyon Mackenzie King. He was the only Liberal elected from Toronto in that election.[2] Factor was re-elected in the 1935 election for the newly created riding of Spadina. He was again re-elected in 1940[3] and, with the lost of two other Liberal MPs in Toronto, was again the city's only representative in the Liberal caucus[2]
With two other MPs, A.A. Heaps of Winnipeg and Sam Jacobs of Montreal, Factor fought against quotas on Jewish immigration and anti-Semitism.[4]
In 1945, Factor was appointed to the bench by Prime Minister King freeing up his Spadina riding for David Croll.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Dates in history", Toronto Star, December 3, 1992
- ^ a b Gerald Owen, "Mackenzie King's unlikely imitator", National Post, 4 February 2006
- ^ PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Federal Experience - FACTOR, Samuel
- ^ Description Full Display - Search Archives - Library and Archives Canada
- ^ Beth Tzedec - david croll
| Parliament of Canada | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Horatio Clarence Hocken, Conservative |
Member of Parliament for Toronto West Centre 1930-1935 |
Succeeded by (riding abolished) |
| Parliament of Canada | ||
| Preceded by (new riding) |
Member of Parliament for Spadina 1935-1945 |
Succeeded by David Croll, Liberal |
