Joseph Baruch (J.B.) Salsberg (November 5, 1902 – February 8, 1998) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He was a Labor-Progressive member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1943 to 1955 who represented the riding of

St. Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

in downtown

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He was a longtime

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and activist in the Jewish community.

Early life

Salsberg was born in 1902 to Abraham and Sarah Gitel Salsberg in the small town of Lagow (Lagov, in Yiddish pronunciation), in the Opatow district of Radom in what is now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He emigrated to Canada with his parents in 1913 at age 11, settling in

. His father worked as a peddler to support his wife and seven children. Joseph dropped out of Landsdowne Public School after two years, at the age of 13, in order to work in sweatshops full-time for $3 a week to help support the family but continued to study at night to be a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

in the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

tradition. His industrial experience led him to labour activism, particularly in the garment workers union where he fought for improved wages and conditions. At age 16, he informed his traditionalist parents that he was abandoning

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

ic studies in favour of a secular humanist philosophy. He joined a

Labour Zionist Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...

workers' group, the Young

Poale Zion Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

, and quickly rose to leadership going to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to serve as

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the North American group from 1922 to 1924, editing its newspaper and going on speaking tours across the continent. He returned to Toronto and became an organizer for the Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers Union of North America and, in 1927, married Dora Wilensky who later became a social worker with Jewish Family and Child Services.

Communist activity

By 1926, Salsberg's trade unionism and socialism led him to become an active member of the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

. He became well known in the Jewish community, many of whose members were workers in the garment district which was concentrated around Spadina Avenue. He became vice-president of the International Hatters' Union and a member of the Communist Party's

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

. He was active in a number of unionization drives across Canada. In 1932, Salsberg became the Southern Ontario district organizer for the

Workers Unity League The Workers' Unity League (WUL) was established in January 1930 as a militant industrial union labour central closely related to the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International. This was reflective of the shift in ...

, a communist-led group which sought to replace Canada's traditional craft unions with industrial unions. He attained further prominence in this role; Canadian historian

Irving Abella Irving Martin Abella (July 2, 1940 – July 3, 2022) was a Canadian historian who served as a professor at York University from 1968 to 2013. He specialized in the history of the Jews in Canada and the Canadian labour movement. Early life Abe ...

later wrote that Salsberg was known as the "Commissar" of Southern Ontario's trade union movement.

Politics

In 1938, he was elected an alderman on Toronto's city council representing Ward 4 (which included the largely Jewish

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

neighbourhoods around Spadina Avenue and

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...

). He was known throughout the city for his work on social issues. Heckled by adversaries as a puppet of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, Salsberg joked that ""You're right. I got a telegram from Joe Stalin this morning ordering me to ask for a park for Ward 4.""'Godfather of Spadina' Joe Salsberg One-time Communist was compassionate" by Nicolaas van Rijn, ''Toronto Star'', February 9, 1998 In the 1943 provincial election he ran as the Labor-Progressive Party candidate in the downtown Toronto riding of

. He defeated Liberal incumbent J.J. Glass by 5,150 votes. The Labor-Progressive Party (LPP) as the

Communist Party of Ontario The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) (french: Parti communiste du Canada (Ontario)) is the Ontario provincial wing of the Communist Party of Canada. Using the name Labor-Progressive Party from 1943 until 1959, the group won two seats in the L ...

was known had been founded as the legal face of the Communist Party which had been banned in 1941. Salsberg was elected alongside fellow LPPer

A.A. MacLeod Alexander Albert "A. A." MacLeod (April 2, 1902 – March 13, 1970) was a political organizer and a prominent member of the Communist Party of Canada and, later, of its legal group, the Labor-Progressive Party. He was an elected Member of Provin ...

who represented the neighbouring riding of

Bellwoods Bellwoods was a provincial riding in Ontario, Canada in the old City of Toronto's west-end. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 until 1987, when it was abolished and redistributed into the Dovercourt, and Fort Yo ...

. He was re-elected in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. Salsberg was a popular MPP inside and outside the house and was respected by members of all parties. He was instrumental in the introduction of the ''Racial Discrimination Act, 1944'' which he proposed as a result of posted notices banning Jews and Blacks from various swimming pools in Toronto and as a result of other cases of anti-Semitism and racism in the province. The law was one of the foundations that led to the eventual passage of the '' Ontario Human Rights Code''. Most of his speeches were non-ideological, and he almost never made reference to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

during his time in the legislature.

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

, the province's Progressive Conservative

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

from 1949 to 1961, respected Salsberg's abilities as a parliamentarian; it has even been reported that Frost was willing to offer Salsberg a

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

position if he defected to the Progressive Conservative Party. Frost named Salsberg Township near what is now

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

in his honour. Salsberg was the sole communist in the Legislature after the 1951 election in which MacLeod lost his seat. Salsberg eulogized Stalin on the house floor when the Soviet leader died in 1953 and this speech was used against him in the 1955 election campaign when he was defeated by Progressive Conservative

Allan Grossman Allan Grossman (December 25, 1910 – September 1, 1991) was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, for 20 years, a provincial Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), cabinet minister and the father of the late former leade ...

Break with Communism

Salsberg had for several years been concerned with official

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

in the Soviet Union, and had confronted Canadian Communist leader

Tim Buck Timothy Buck (January 6, 1891 – March 11, 1973) was the general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada (known as the Labor-Progressive Party from 1943 to 1959) from 1929 until 1962. Together with Ernst Thälmann of Germany, Maurice Tho ...

on the subject as early as 1939. He remained silent on the matter for several years (in part to maintain party unity during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

), but became increasingly troubled by ongoing anti-Semitism in the 1950s. He travelled to the USSR in 1955 and 1956, and witnessed first-hand the extent of the anti-Semitic campaign that had persecuted Jews in that country. Salsberg attempted to personally confront

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

on the matter during his second visit, but his concerns were dismissed. Also disillusioned by

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

and

Khrushchev's Secret Speech "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" (russian: «О культе личности и его последствиях», «''O kul'te lichnosti i yego posledstviyakh''»), popularly known as the "Secret Speech" (russian: секре ...

, he resigned from the Communist Party upon his return to Canada (leading an exodus which included half the national executive). Salsberg reported back to the Labor-Progressive Party and an allied organization, the

United Jewish Peoples' Order The United Jewish People's Order is a secular socialist Jewish cultural, political and educational fraternal organization in Canada. The UJPO traces its history to the founding of the Jewish Labour League Mutual Benefit Society in 1926. History ...

on his findings. He was suspended for a time from the leadership of the LPP as a result and, after an internal debate, left the LPP along with most of its Jewish cadre. The UJPO supported Salsberg's findings and severed its ties with the party. Nevertheless, Salsberg and a number of his supporters continued to argue for UJPO to distance itself further from the Soviet Union until he and approximately 200 UJPO members, approximately one-third of the organization, resigned in 1959 and founded the New Fraternal Jewish Association in 1960 in which Salsberg was a leading member until his death.

Later life

The late 1950s were a period of tragedy for Salsberg: in addition to losing his belief in communism (and his seat in the legislature), his wife Dora died in 1959. He withdrew from political activity for a time, and sold insurance to make a living. There are reports that he was eventually able to make a small fortune through this practice. Salsberg later rejoined the

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (, , ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for human r ...

(which had previously expelled its Communist members). In 1959 he and about one-third of the membership of UJPO left, feeling that the organization was not critical enough of the Soviet Union, and started a new organization called the ''New Fraternal Jewish Association''. The NFJA was made up primarily of former Jewish Communists still interested in promoting social justice. Salsberg was also involved in a variety of cultural activities, including

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-language programs. Salsberg also returned to Labour Zionism and, in his old age, was a longtime columnist for the ''

Canadian Jewish News The Canadian Jewish News is a non-profit, national, English-language digital-first media organization that serves Canada‘s Jewish community. A national edition of the newspaper was published for 60 years in Toronto. A weekly Montreal edition in ...

'' until shortly before his death.

Election results

Municipal - Ward 4 (Two aldermen elected)

January 1936 ;Ward 4 (

and Garment District) : Robert Hood Saunders (incumbent) - 4,941 : Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 4,811 :H.M. Goodman - 2,466 :

J.B. Salsberg Joseph Baruch (J.B.) Salsberg (November 5, 1902 – February 8, 1998) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Labor-Progressive Party, Labor-Progressive member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1943 to 1955 who represented the ridi ...

- 2,343 :Max Federman - 816 :S.C. Schiller - 225 December 1936 ;Ward 4 (

and Garment District) : Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 4,127 : Robert Hood Saunders (incumbent) - 3,884 :

- 3,633 :

Herbert Orliffe Herbert Orliffe (c.1905 – 3 July 1967) was a municipal politician in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He immigrated with his family from Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, England at age 8 and settled in Toronto. His father operated a grocery sto ...

- 813 :Albert Leslie - 673 1937 ;Ward 4 (

and Garment District) : Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 5,002 :

- 4,725 :

David A. Balfour David Avoca Balfour (1889–1956) was a municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was active in civic politics from 1939 until 1955. This included twelve years on the Board of Control, a longer service than anyone prior. Balfour was bor ...

- 3,172 :Hyman Langer - 1,967 :Joseph Stewart - 1,211 1939 ;Ward 4 ( The Annex,

and Garment District) : Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 7,230 :

- 6,339 :

(incumbent) - 5,830 :Joseph Stewart - 1,216 1940 ;Ward 4 ( The Annex,

and Garment District) : Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 5,427 : Robert Hood Saunders - 4,900 : Claude Pearce - 2,761 :

- 2,154 :Louis Zuker - 1,362 :Lloyd Muritt - 381 1943 ;Ward 4 ( The Annex,

and Garment District) :J. B. Salsberg - 4,783 : Nathan Phillips (incumbent) - 2,472 : David Balfour (incumbent) - 2,432 :

- 2,093 :William Condle - 290

Provincial election results

Federal

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salsberg, J.B. 1902 births 1998 deaths Activists from Toronto Canadian male journalists Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Communist Party of Canada candidates in the 1935 Canadian federal election Jewish Canadian activists Jewish Canadian politicians Journalists from Toronto Labor-Progressive Party of Ontario MPPs Polish emigrants to Canada Jewish socialists Toronto city councillors Jewish Canadian journalists