Solomon Hart Green (October 23, 1885 – April 13, 1969) was a

Jew 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""Th ...

ish

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

from 1910 to 1914, as a

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 ...

, making him the first Jewish Canadian to serve in that legislature. Green was born in Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, and was educated at King's College in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He received a law degree in 1906. Green then relocated to western Canada, and in 1907 became the first Jew admitted to the legal profession in Manitoba. He was a member of the firm Chapman and Green, and continued his practice in Winnipeg for several decades. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1910 election, defeating incumbent

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 ...

John F. Mitchell by 620 votes in

Winnipeg North Winnipeg North (french: Winnipeg-Nord) is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Geography The riding includes the ne ...

. He won 27 of 35 polls in the constituency. The Conservatives won the election, and Green served as a member of the opposition for the next four years. He was not a candidate in the 1914 election. He attempted to return to the legislature in

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

, but lost to

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

Richard Rigg by 231 votes. Green's biographical entry in the 1914 Canadian Parliamentary Guide lists him as "apparently the first Hebrew to take a seat in any Legislature in Canada". This is incorrect:

Ezekiel Hart Ezekiel Hart (15 May 1770 – 16 September 1843) was an entrepreneur and politician in British North America. He is often said to be the first Jew to be elected to public office in the British Empire,. He was elected three times by the voters of ...

, who was in fact related to him, was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of ele ...

in 1807 and 1808, although he was expelled from his seat because he was a Jew.

Henry Nathan Henry Nathan Jr. (September 3, 1842 – February 5, 1914) was the first Jewish Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons. Born in London, England, Nathan was one of two MPs elected to represent the British Columbia riding of Victoria in ...

, a federal

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 ...

from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in the 1870s, was also Jewish. Green remained an active member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

after leaving the legislature, and organized meetings for Liberal candidates at Winnipeg's Torah Talmud Hall in the 1920s. He was president of the

Liberal Association in 1930, and supported his party's decision not to field a candidate against

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

incumbent

Abraham Albert Heaps Abraham Albert Heaps (December 24, 1885 – April 4, 1954), known as A. A. Heaps, was a Canadian politician and labour leader. A strong labourite, he served as MP for Winnipeg North from 1925 to 1940. Born in Leeds, England, Heaps emig ...

in that year's federal election. Green argued that a Liberal candidate could have split the anti-

vote, and allowed the Conservative candidate to be elected. The Liberals nominated a candidate in Winnipeg North for the 1935 election, and on this occasion Green campaigned against Heaps on the grounds that the latter was a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. Heaps won the election. The

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

's Faculty of Law now offers Hart Green Scholarships as entrance awards, in his honour.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Solomon Hart 1885 births 1969 deaths Jewish Canadian politicians Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Canadian Conservative rabbis Politicians from Saint John, New Brunswick