Hon. David Arnold Croll

Lawyer; Mayor of Windsor; Member of Provincial Parliament; Senator

David Croll was a politician who ended his career in the Canadian Senate.  He was the 18th mayor of the City of Windsor.  At the time he was one of the youngest mayors, and the first person of the Jewish faith to head a Canadian city.  As an M.P.P., he introduced legislation for the country’s first minimum wage.  Mr. Croll also shepherded the 1935 government bill leading to the amalgamation of Windsor, East Windsor, Sandwich and Walkerville.  Under the government of Louis St. Laurent in 1955, Mr. Croll became the first Jewish person appointed to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. David Arnold CrollElected as Mayor of Windsor in 1930, he sought to relieve the economic hardship during the Great Depression through the creation of relief programs.
In 1934, Mr. Croll ran for a seat in the Ontario Legislature on the Liberal ticket and was elected to represent the riding of Windsor-Walkerville. Premier Mitch Hepburn appointed Mr. Croll to his cabinet. But in 1937, after disagreeing with Premier Hepburn over the handling of the General Motors strike, Mr. Croll resigned from cabinet. Back in Windsor, Mr. Croll was re-elected in 1938 as mayor.

Croll was a young child when his family emigrated at the turn of the twentieth century to Canada from Russia. The young Croll sold newspapers, shined shoes and worked in a munitions factory. Money from the newsstand helped with finances when Croll enrolled in law school at Osgoode Hall in Toronto. He returned to Windsor to practice after being called to the bar in 1925. During the Second World War, he enlisted with the Essex Scottish Regiment, and served overseas. After returning to Canada, Mr. Croll campaigned federally, winning the Toronto riding of Spadina in 1945, 1949 and 1953. Senator Croll continued to advocate for social issues during his tenure in the upper chamber, including acting as Chair of a special Senate Committee on Poverty. He died in office in June of 1991.

Sources:

Abrams, Alan. Why Windsor? An anecdotal history of the Jews of Windsor and Essex County. Windsor, Ont. : Black Moss Press, 1981.

Craig, Susanne.  Faded pages chronicle distinguised career.  The Windsor Star.  June 13, 1991.  Retrieved April 17, 2018.

 “Croll, The Hon. David Arnold, P.C., Q.C., LL.C.”  Parliament of Canada website.  Retrieved April 17, 2018.

David Arnold Croll.  Revolvy.  Retrieved April 17, 2018.

Kulisek, Larry.  “Never a yes man:  David Croll.”  Windsor Star, June 30, 1999.  Retrieved April 17, 2018.