David Lewis (Canadian politician)
A sharp-tongued intellectual who shaped Canada's social democratic movement, fighting for a more just society from the backrooms to Parliament Hill.
1909–1981 (age 72)·Canadian lawyer and politician·Birthday: June 23·The Greatest Generation
Biography
David Lewis arrived in Canada as a child refugee from tsarist Russia, an experience that forged a lifelong commitment to fighting inequality. He cut his teeth not on the campaign trail, but in the meticulous, unglamorous work of party building, serving as the national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) for fourteen years. With a lawyer's precision and a polemicist's fire, he was a principal architect in the transformation of the CCF into the broader-based New Democratic Party. As NDP leader in the early 1970s, he wielded influence far beyond his party's numbers, coining the devastating phrase 'corporate welfare bums' to attack business subsidies and holding the balance of power in a minority Parliament. Lewis's legacy is that of the indispensable organizer, the strategic mind who believed power was necessary to implement principle, and who helped embed social democratic ideas into Canada's political fabric.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
David was born in 1909, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1909
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1909Born
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1914Started school
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Became a teenager
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1925Could drive
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1927Could vote
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1930Turned 21
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1939Turned 30
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1949Turned 40
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1959Turned 50
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1969Turned 60
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 70
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Died at 72
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
Key Achievements
- Served as National Secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1936 to 1950, shaping its policy and organization.
- Was a key intellectual and organizational force in the founding of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961.
- Led the NDP from 1971 to 1975, during which time the party held the balance of power in a minority Parliament.
- Popularized the critical term 'corporate welfare bums' in the 1972 election to critique government subsidies to large corporations.
Did You Know?
He was the father of Stephen Lewis, who later became leader of the Ontario NDP and a Canadian ambassador to the UN.
He was a Rhodes Scholar, studying at Oxford University in the 1930s.
Before his political career, he worked as a labour lawyer, often representing unions.
He lost his seat in the 1974 election, which led to his retirement as party leader the following year.
“The NDP is not a party of protest; it is a party of power, because we want to put our principles into practice.”
