Samuel "Sam" Factor, (October 26, 1892 – August 21, 1962) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and jurist and the first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from

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 ...

.Judge Samuel Factor was MP 15 years, ''Toronto Daily Star'', August 22, 1962

Background

Born in

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

ist

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, Factor's family settled in Toronto when he was 10 years old. He attended McCaul Public School and

Jarvis Collegiate Institute Jarvis Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Jarvis Street where it is located. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to 1998, it was within the Toronto Board of Education (T ...

and then graduated from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

where he earned a silver medal and two scholarships. He enlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and served as a lieutenant.

Politics

Factor was elected to the Toronto School Board in 1923 and 1924 before winning an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

ic seat representing Ward 4 on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

where he served from 1926 until 1928. In

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

, he was elected to the House of Commons as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP for

Toronto West Centre Toronto West Centre was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1935. It was located in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. This riding was creat ...

, a riding that was home to much of Toronto's Jewish population as well as many other recent immigrants. He defeated former

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

Tommy Church Thomas Langton "Tommy" Church (1873 – February 7, 1950) was a Canadian politician. After serving as Mayor of Toronto from 1915 to 1921, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1921 election as a Conservative from the riding ...

in what had been a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

riding bucking a national trend in the 1930 federal election that saw the Conservatives defeating the incumbent Liberal government of

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

. He was the only Liberal elected from Toronto in that election.Gerald Owen, "Mackenzie King's unlikely imitator", ''National Post'', 4 February 2006 Factor was re-elected in the 1935 election for the newly created riding of Spadina. He was again re-elected in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

and, with the loss of two other Liberal MPs in Toronto, was again the city's only representative in the Liberal

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

With two other MPs, A.A. Heaps of Winnipeg and Sam Jacobs of Montreal, Factor fought against quotas on Jewish immigration and anti-Semitism. While serving in Parliament 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 ...

, Factor enlististed with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

, retiring in 1944 with the rank of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

Judiciary

In 1945, Factor was appointed to the bench by Prime Minister King, freeing up his Spadina riding for

David Croll David Arnold Croll, (born Davud Avrum Croll; March 12, 1900 – June 11, 1991) was a Canadian politician. He served as the mayor of Windsor, Ontario twice. He entered provincial politics in the 1930s, and served as minister of public works an ...

.Beth Tzedec – david croll
He served as a York County Court judge until 1960. He attracted notice as a judge for his attitude towards

drug addicts Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

viewing them as individuals with an illness rather than criminals and pleaded with the federal government to change the law so that they could be sent by the court to hospital for treatment rather than prison. He believed that drug dealers should be treated harshly by the law, however.Samuel Factor - Toronto Judge Opposed Jailing Drug Addicts, ''Globe and Mail'', August 22, 1962

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Factor, Sam 1892 births 1962 deaths Lawyers in Ontario Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Canadian King's Counsel Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada Judges in Ontario Jewish Canadian politicians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Russian Jews Toronto city councillors