Samuel Factor

Samuel "Sam" Factor, (October 26, 1892 – August 21, 1962) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and jurist and the first Jewish Member of Parliament elected to the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario.

Background Born in Tsarist Russia, Factor's family settled in Toronto when he was 10 years old. He attended McCaul Public School and Jarvis Collegiate Institute and then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School where he earned a silver medal and two scholarships. He enlisted in the Canadian Army during World War I and served as a lieutenant. Factor was re-elected in the 1935 election for the newly created riding of Spadina. He was again re-elected in 1940 and, with the loss of two other Liberal MPs in Toronto, was again the city's only representative in the Liberal caucus

While serving in Parliament during World War II, Factor enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force, retiring in 1944 with the rank of Squadron Leader. He served as a York County Court judge until 1960. He attracted notice as a judge for his attitude towards drug addicts viewing them as individuals with an illness rather than criminals and pleaded with the federal government to change the law so that they could be sent by the court to hospital for treatment rather than prison. He believed that drug dealers should be treated harshly by the law, however.