Lewis family (Canada)
| Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Current region | Canada |
| Earlier spellings | Losz |
| Place of origin | (Polish) Vistula Land, Russian Empire (now Belarus) |
The Lewis family is a Canadian political family, who have Polish-Jewish heritage. It includes the labour activist Moishe Lewis, former Leader of the New Democratic Party David Lewis, and former Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Stephen Lewis.
Notable members
- Moise Losz (Morris Lewis) (1888 – 1950) was a Jewish labour activist in Eastern Europe and Canada. Losz anglicized the family name to "Lewis", moving to Montreal in May 1921 following the Polish-Soviet War.[1] He was a member of the socialist General Jewish Labour Bund, and was married to Rose Lazarovitch. He is the father of David Lewis.
- David Lewis (1909 – 1981) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and helped create the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956 and the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. He served as a Member of Parliament for York South and as the second Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1971 to 1975. When David was elected the NDP's leader in 1971, he and Stephen became one of the first father-and-son teams to head Canadian political parties simultaneously. He had 4 children and was married to Sophie Carson. His daughter, Nina Lewis, married Daniel Libeskind, a Polish–American architect, in 1969. The couple has 3 children.[2]
- Stephen Lewis (born 1937) is a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations under prime minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988 and as leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party from 1970 to 1978. He represented the riding of Scarborough West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He married author Michele Landsberg in 1963 and has 3 children, including Avi Lewis.[3]
- Michele Landsberg (born 1939) is a Canadian journalist, activist, and author, who married Stephen Lewis in 1963. She has 3 children.
- Avi Lewis (born 1967) is a Canadian journalist, activist, broadcaster, and politician who served as a federal NDP candidate in 2021 and 2025. The son of Stephen Lewis and Michele Landsberg, he married author Naomi Klein and has 1 child.
- Naomi Klein (born 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses; support of ecofeminism, organized labour, and criticism of corporate globalization,[4] fascism[5] and capitalism.[6] She is married to Avi Lewis and has 1 child. Klein's mother, Bonnie Sherr Klein, is a Canadian filmmaker and activist and is married to Michael Klein.
- Ilana Landsberg-Lewis (born 1965) is a Canadian labour and human rights lawyer and activist who served as executive director of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.[7][8] In 2026, she was appointed chief executive officer of Rainbow Railroad.[9] She is the daughter of Stephen Lewis and Michele Landsberg. She was previously married to Lorraine Segato, a Canadian singer-songwriter.[10]
- Jenny Lewis (born ?) is a Canadian casting director. She is the daughter of Stephen Lewis and Michele Landsberg.[11]
- Stephen Lewis (born 1937) is a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations under prime minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988 and as leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party from 1970 to 1978. He represented the riding of Scarborough West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He married author Michele Landsberg in 1963 and has 3 children, including Avi Lewis.[3]
- David Lewis (1909 – 1981) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and helped create the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956 and the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. He served as a Member of Parliament for York South and as the second Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1971 to 1975. When David was elected the NDP's leader in 1971, he and Stephen became one of the first father-and-son teams to head Canadian political parties simultaneously. He had 4 children and was married to Sophie Carson. His daughter, Nina Lewis, married Daniel Libeskind, a Polish–American architect, in 1969. The couple has 3 children.[2]
Ancestry
The family have Belarusian-Jewish and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Who Do You Think You Are? | Stories | Avi Lewis
- ^ "Jewish Museum Berlin – Daniel Libeskind". Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ Frayne, Trent (April 17, 1971). "David Lewis has it all to win NDP leadership except for his age: 61". The Toronto Star. Toronto. p. 11.
- ^ "Commanding Heights : Naomi Klein | on PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ "Berkeley Talks transcript: Naomi Klein on eco-fascism and the Green New Deal". Berkeley News. March 27, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ^ Nineham, Chris (October 2007). "The Shock Doctrine". Socialist Review. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
- ^ "Michele Landsberg celebrates 70 years". Now. July 15, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Ilana Landsberg-Lewis - Happily Getting Older | S6 E02". Two Old Bitches Podcast. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
- ^ "Rainbow Railroad Appoints Ilana Landsberg-Lewis as Chief Executive Officer". Rainbow Railroad. Rainbow Railroad. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
- ^ https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2023/01/04/celebrated-actor-singer-songwriter-film-producer-among-2023-order-of-canada-recipients/360155/
- ^ https://x.com/avilewis/status/2005686074136244612
- ^ "David Lewis: Founder of the CCF party". July 21, 2017.
Further reading
- Caplan, Gerald (1973). The Dilemma of Canadian Socialism: The CCF in Ontario. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-1896-7.
- Chamberlin, William Henry (1987). The Russian Revolution: 1917–1921. Vol. 2 (2 ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00816-7.
- Horowitz, Gad (1968). Canadian Labour in Politics. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-1902-1.
- Kosovsky, Vladimir (1943). Vladimier Medem on the Twentieth Anniversary of His Death (in Yiddish). New York: American Representation of the General Jewish Workers' Union of Poland. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
- Lewis, David (1981). The Good Fight: Political Memoirs 1909–1958. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0-7715-9598-0.
- Lewis, David; Frank Scott (2001) [1943]. Make This Your Canada: A Review of CCF History and Policy. Winnipeg: Hybrid Publishers Co-operative. ISBN 0-9689709-0-7.