David Croll
David Arnold Croll, PC QC (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 and municipal affairs in the Mitch Hepburn government.[1] He won election to the House of Commons of Canada in 1945. In 1955 he was appointed to the Senate of Canada, becoming the first Jewish Senator. He served as a senator until his death, on June 11, 1991, a few hours after what would be his last senate sitting.[1]
The Hon. David Croll | |
|---|---|
| Senator | |
| In office 1955–1991 | |
| Appointed by | Louis St. Laurent |
| Constituency | Toronto—Spadina, Ontario |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Spadina | |
| In office 1945–1955 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Factor |
| Succeeded by | Charles Edward Rea |
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1934–1943 | |
| Preceded by | New riding |
| Succeeded by | William Charles Riggs |
| Constituency | Windsor—Walkerville |
| 18th & 21st Mayor | |
| In office 1931–1934 | |
| Preceded by | Cecil E. Jackson |
| Succeeded by | George Bennett |
| Constituency | Windsor, Ontario |
| In office 1939–1940 | |
| Preceded by | Ernest S. Wigle |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Reaume |
| Constituency | Windsor, Ontario |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Davud Avrum Croll March 12, 1900 Moscow, Russia |
| Died | June 11, 1991 (aged 91) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Resting place | Beth Tzedec Memorial Park |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Other political affiliations | Ontario Liberal Party |
| Cabinet | Provincial: Minister of Labour (1935–1937) Minister of Municipal Affairs (1934–1937) Minister of Public Welfare (1934–1937) |
| Committees | Federal: Chair, Special Committee on Retirement Age Policies Chair, Special Committee on Poverty Chair, Special Committee on Aging |
Early life
Croll was born in a Moscow, Russia and was brought to Canada with his family as a young boy, at which point his name was anglicized. Croll became a lawyer and entered politics serving as mayor of Windsor, Ontario from 1931 to 1934 during the worst days of the Great Depression.[1] He made his reputation as a social reformer when he insisted the city go into deficit in order to provide relief programs for the unemployed and destitute.
Provincial politics
Croll won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Windsor—Walkerville in the 1934 election that brought the Liberals to power under the leadership of Mitchell Hepburn. Croll became Canada's first Jewish cabinet minister when he became Minister of Public Welfare. He later also added the portfolios of Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of Labour. He and Attorney-General Arthur Roebuck broke with Hepburn over the Premier's opposition to the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors in Oshawa in 1937, and resigned from cabinet saying "I would rather walk with the workers than ride with General Motors." He served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War, enlisting as a Private in the Essex Scottish Regiment and rising in rank to lieutenant-colonel. He remained a provincial Liberal backbencher until 1943, as well as serving again as Mayor of Windsor.
Federal politics
He was recruited by the Liberal Party of Canada to contest the Toronto riding of Spadina in the 1945 federal election.[1] The Liberals feared that Tim Buck, leader of the communist Labor-Progressive Party was poised to win the riding. The popular Croll was seen as the only Liberal who could defeat him. After Croll was nominated, Buck instead ran in a neighbouring riding, leaving Sam Carr to be the LPP's candidate. Croll handily won a seat in the House of Commons of Canada, becoming Spadina's Member of Parliament (MP) and Tory Toronto's sole Liberal MP. He was re-elected in the 1949 and 1953 elections.
Despite being regarded as one of the most talented Liberal MPs and, until 1950, the only Liberal MP from Toronto, Croll was never summoned to the Canadian Cabinet where he would have become the first Jewish federal cabinet minister.[2] Croll was told that this was due to anti-Semitism in Quebec and within quarters of the Liberal Party. Instead, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1955, becoming Canada's first Jewish senator.[3]
Croll was the author of the influential 1971 "Report of the Special Senate Committee on Poverty" which began with the words "the poor do not choose poverty. It is at once their affliction and our national shame. The children of the poor (and there are many) are the most helpless victims of all, and find even less hope in a society where welfare systems from the very beginning destroys their chances of a better life." The report moved the Trudeau government to triple family allowances in 1973 and institute the Child Tax Credit in 1978. Aside from his work on poverty, he was also responsible for Senate reports on aging. In 1990 in recognition of his contributions, he was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, an honour usually given only to federal cabinet ministers.
He remained an active senator until his death, even taking his seat in the "Red Chamber" a few hours before his death. He died of heart failure in the Château Laurier Hotel, a few hours after attending an afternoon senate session on June 11, 1991.[1] At the time, he was the oldest serving senator, as he was appointed at a time when appointments to the senate were for life.[4]
In his honour, the Senator David A. Croll Apartments, a seniors' residence in Toronto was named after him.[5] The irony is that the building was originally the focus of Toronto's late 1960s youth counterculture, infamous Rochdale College, built by Campus Co-operative Student Residences (Campus Co-op) in 1968 as a student co-operative residence.[6] The building was selected, as a pilot project, for installing Canada's first rooftop combined heat and power system.
Archives
There is a David Arnold Croll fonds at Library and Archives Canada[7]. Archival reference number is R6740.
References
- Canadian Press (1991-06-12). "Senator Croll, 91, champion of the poor". The Toronto Star. Toronto. p. A20.
- Grafstein, Q.C., Senator Jerry S. (2005). "The Life and Times of the Late Senator David Croll". Toronto: Beth Tzedec Congregation. Archived from the original on 2006-07-08. Retrieved 2014-07-22.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Chronicle Staff (1955-08-05). "Senator Croll". The Canadian Jewish Chronicle. Montreal. p. 3. Retrieved 2014-07-22.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Speirs, Rosemary (1991-06-14). "Senator David Croll remembered as being 'a voice of the people'". The Toronto Star. Toronto. p. A4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Star Staff (1978-04-29). "New image for Rochdale: Re-naming after Sen. David Croll". The Toronto Star. p. A8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Goodspeed, Peter (1979-12-04). "The rebirth of Rochdale: Seniors start moving into former hippie haven". The Toronto Star. p. A7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- "Finding aid to David Croll fonds, Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 2002-06-18.
External links
- David Croll – Parliament of Canada biography
- Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)
- Special Senate Committee on Poverty (2010-01-20). "Poverty in Canada – Report of the Special Senate Committee on Poverty" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-03-18.
- Croll at Canadian Encyclopedia
