Victor Goldbloom

Victor Charles Goldbloom, CC OQ (born July 31, 1923) is a Canadian pediatrician, lecturer, and politician.

He was born in Montreal, the son of Alton Goldbloom and Annie Ballon. He studied at Selwyn House and Lower Canada College. He studied at McGill University receiving his BSc in 1944, his MD in 1945, his DipEd in 1950 and his DLitt in 1992. Dr. Goldbloom was assistant resident at the Babies' Hospital of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, in New York.

He was elected in 1966 as the MNA for the Montreal riding of D'Arcy-McGee. He was re-elected in 1970, 1973, and 1976. While Robert Bourassa was Premier of Quebec, Goldbloom was Minister of State responsible for Quality of Environment (1970–73), Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of Environment (1973). He was the first member of the Jewish community to become a cabinet minister. He resigned on October 16, 1979 after Claude Ryan became leader.

After politics, from 1980 to 1987, he was CEO of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. From 1991 until 1999, he was Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages.

In June, 1948, he married Sheila (born Barshay-Rothstein), of New York and Peekskill, at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism . His sons are Michael Goldbloom, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Bishop's University and former publisher of the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette,^[1] and Jonathan Goldbloom, founder and president of Jonathan Goldbloom & Associates. His daughter, Susan Restler, lives in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2009, he expressed grave concerns on the state of Catholic-Jewish relations after the lifting of the excommunications of the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X.^[2]

Honours

• In 1983 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 2000.
• In 1991 he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.
• In 1994 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa.
• In 1996 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the Université Sainte-Anne at Church Point (Pointe de l'Église), Nova Scotia
• In 1996 he received the James H. Graham Award of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
• In June 2009, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) established the Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize individuals like Victor and Sheila Goldbloom who have gone above and beyond in contributing to the vitality and understanding of English-speaking Quebec.
• In 2012, he was made a Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester^[3] in recognition of "his outstanding devotion and his leadership in promoting Jewish-Christian dialogue and understanding".^[4]

Electoral record (partial)

References

External links

• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.