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 is the father of politician and public speaker Stephen Lewis, and the grandfather of documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis.
David was the first Jewish person to lead a major (relatively) political party in Canada. Andrew Scheer, who was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2017, is the only other person of Jewish background to do so.
David’s maternal grandfather was Usher Lazarovitch.