David Lewis

Birth Name: David Losz

Date of Birth: June 23 or October, 1909

Place of Birth: Svisloch, Russian Empire

Date of Death: May 23, 1981

Place of Death: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

David Lewis was a Canadian labour lawyer and politician. He was Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), from April 24, 1971 to July 7, 1975, carrying it into the 1972 and 1974 federal elections. He was a Member of Parliament from Ontario, from June 18, 1962 to April 8, 1963, and again from November 8, 1965 to July 8, 1974.

David was born in Svisloch, Russian Empire, the son of Rose (Lazarovitch) and Moishe Losz, a labour activist. His family moved to Canada in 1921, settling in Montréal, Québec. David was married to Sophie Carson, who was also Jewish. The couple had four children, including politician and public speaker Stephen Lewis. His grandson is documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis.

David was the first Jewish person to lead a major federal party in Canada. Andrew Scheer, who led the Conservative Party, from 2017 to 2020, and Annamie Paul, who led the Green Party, from 2020 to 2021, are the two other people of Jewish heritage and/or religion to have done so, on a non-interim basis. Andrew is a Catholic with a Jewish grandfather, and Annamie is a convert to Judaism.

David’s maternal grandfather was named Usher Lazarovitch.