Untitled | The Museum of Jewish Montreal

An influential lawyer and a Member of Parliament for more than 20 years, Sam Jacobs (1871-1938) was a leading advocate on behalf of the Quebec Jewish community. During the rise of Nazism in Europe in the 1930s, he petitioned the government to allow the entry of Jewish immigrants into Canada. Unfortunately, his struggle was unsuccessful.

Jacobs obtained his law degree from McGill University in 1893. At a time when it was difficult for Jews to establish themselves in the field, he devoted himself to criminal and civil law and became involved in numerous high-profile legal cases in Quebec. One was the Pinsler case against the Montreal Protestant School Board in 1903 (Jacob Pinsler, a student, had been unjustly refused a scholarship). Jacobs also played a key role in the Plamondon trial: in 1910, he led a libel suit against Jacques-Édouard Plamondon for an anti-Semitic speech that had prompted violent attacks against Jews in Quebec City. As well, he defended the civil rights of fellow Jews and opened professional opportunities to young Jewish lawyers by hiring them into his practice.

In 1897, Samuel William Jacobs and Lyon Cohen cofounded the Canadian Jewish Times, a monthly publication to which Jacobs contributed editorials for a number of years. The newspaper was devoted to defending the rights of Canada’s Jewish citizens. Its viewpoint, however, was that of the uptown Jewish elite, who favoured the rapid assimilation of Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants. In 1917, Jacobs was elected as a member of the Canadian Parliament for the Liberal Party in the riding of Cartier. For many years, he served as the nation’s only Jewish MP. In Parliament, he defended the rights of Jews and other minorities, fought energetically against anti-Semitism and campaigned for the removal of quotas on Jewish immigration. In the 1920s, he lobbied vigorously to allow the immigration of Eastern European Jews to Canada through his involvement with the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society. Responding to the rise of Nazism in Europe in the following decade, he applied strong pressure on Mackenzie King’s immigration policy, in an attempt to have measures restricting Jewish immigration lifted.

Over the course of his career, Sam Jacobs presided over two major Jewish organizations, the Baron de Hirsch Institute (1912 to 1914) and the Canadian Jewish Congress (1934 to 1938). He also participated in the establishment of the Hebrew Free Loan Society.

Compiled by Valérie Beauchemin, translated by Helge Dascher.

Sources

Figler, Bernard. Sam Jacobs Member of Parliament. Ottawa: Harpell’s Press, 1970.

Gordon, Judy. Four Hundred Brothers and Sisters: The Story of Two Jewish Orphanages in Montreal, Quebec, 1909-1942. Toronto: Lugus Publications, 2002.

Nigro, Mario et Clare Mauro . “The Jewish Immigrant Experience and the Practice of Law in Montreal, 1830 to 1990.” McGill Law Journal 44 (1998-1999): 999-1046.

Sylvio, Normand. « L’Affaire Plamondon: Un cas d’antisemitisme à Quebec au debut du XXe siècle. » Cahiers de Droit 48 (2007): 477-504.

Taschereau, Sylvie. «Échapper à Shylock : la Hebrew Free Loan Association of Montreal entre antisemitisme et integration, 1911-1913.» Revue de l’histoire de l’Amerique française 59.4 (2006): 451-480.

Tulchinsky, Gerald. Canada’s Jews: A People’s Journey. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.

*Images courtesy of the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Museum and Archives, the McCord Museum and the CJCCCNA.