David A. Croll Commemorative Plaque, 2024.
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Resource ID
11749
Access
Open
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2024
Keywords
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Caption
David A. Croll Commemorative Plaque, 2024.
Description
David Arnold Croll was Ontario’s first Jewish cabinet minister and the first Jewish person to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. Throughout his lengthy political career, he was a passionate advocate for poverty relief, equality, and the rights of workers.
Born in Moscow, Russian Empire, Croll came to Canada with his family as a child. He trained as a lawyer and practiced in Windsor, Ontario, where he became mayor from 1930 to 1934 and again from 1939 to 1941.
During his time in office, which coincided with the Great Depression, he introduced a system of relief within the city. Croll was first elected in the riding of Windsor–Walkerville as a member of the Ontario Liberal party in 1934. During his two terms as an MPP, he was known as a political firebrand, serving as the province’s Minister of Public Welfare, Minister of Municipal Affairs, and Minister of Labour.
During the Second World War, he enlisted as a private and rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant-colonel. After the war, he was elected
to the federal parliament in Toronto’s Spadina riding and served under Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent. Croll was deeply rooted in his community, supporting many Jewish causes throughout his life.
In 1955, he became a lifetime member of the Senate, a position he held until he died, having never retired from public service.