Allan Grossman
Encyclopedia
Allan Grossman was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
, Canada
, for 20 years, a provincial cabinet
minister and the father of the late former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Larry Grossman
. Together, the father and son represented the downtown Toronto
, Ontario
, riding of St. Andrew
, and its successor St. Andrew—St. Patrick
, for 32 consecutive years. Allan was also the second Jewish Canadian Cabinet minister in Ontario and the first to be a Tory. He was also the first elected Canadian official to visit China.
n occupied Poland
in 1907. Two years later, Moishe Grossman brought his wife Sarah and their then six children to Canada. Allan Grossman was the seventh child and the first member of the family to be born in Canada.
At age sixteen Grossman and a handful of other boys formed the "Junior Conservative Association of Toronto". Probably the first Toronto political organization for youths, it was the beginning of the "Young Progressive Conservatives."
to fight the entry into Canada of an allegedly communist
-dominated union from the United States
.
In 1951, former Toronto mayor, Nathan Phillips
, then an alderman
, was vacating his council seat to run for mayor. He persuaded Grossman to run in his ward against the Labour-Progressive Party
(as the Communists were known) candidate who had narrowly been defeated during the previous year's election. Grossman ran and defeated the Communist candidate by a margin of 131 votes. The following year he won by 2,000 votes and became the senior alderman and one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Toronto
Council. He was re-elected alderman in the subsequent two annual elections.
In 1955, he ran provincially as the Progressive Conservative
candidate against the Labour-Progressive Party incumbent J. B. Salsberg
for the downtown Toronto riding
of St. Andrew Grossman won, defeating the last Communist in the Ontario legislature.
In 1960, Ontario Premier
Leslie Frost
appointed Grossman to the Cabinet
as Minister Without Portfolio
, becoming the first Jewish cabinet minister in Ontario since David Croll
. Grossman went on to serve under Premier John Robarts
as Chief Liquor Commissioner and Minister of Reform Institutions (now Correctional Services). During his nearly eight years as minister Grossman became renowned throughout North America
and Europe
for his innovative and progressive penal reforms. His leadership was recognized with numerous citations, and in 1971 the University of Ottawa
bestowed upon him with an honorary doctorate
in Criminology
.
In 1971, Grossman was appointed by Robarts successor, Bill Davis
. as Minister of Trade and Development, with additional responsibility for Housing. He led the first trade mission from the Western world
to China
.
Grossman became Minister of Revenue in 1972 and continued his responsibility for housing. He introduced Ontario's tax credit program to assist the elderly and low income families and eliminated much of the red tape that generally plagues a tax-collecting Ministry. In 1974, Grossman became the Provincial Secretary for Resources Development with overall policy responsibility for seven ministries.
Outside of politics Grossman fought to help the Hungarian
freedom fighters and their Canadian relatives; the citizens of Prague
who cried for freedom during the Russian invasion; and, as President of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Service, he assisted homeless persons.
in 1985 and afterwards served as a volunteer advisor to Larry and the Ontario Tory caucus
.
In 1985, a biography was published, Unlikely Tory: The Life and Politics of Allan Grossman by Peter Oliver ISBN 0-88619-049-5 .
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, for 20 years, a provincial cabinet
Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)
An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...
minister and the father of the late former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Larry Grossman
Larry Grossman
Lawrence "Larry" Sheldon Grossman was a politician in Ontario, Canada.-Early years:Born in Toronto, Grossman was the son of Allan Grossman, who had represented a downtown Toronto riding in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for twenty years after defeating Ontario's last Communist Member of...
. Together, the father and son represented the downtown Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, riding of St. Andrew
St. Andrew (electoral district)
St. Andrew was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was established to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly and then Members of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario....
, and its successor St. Andrew—St. Patrick
St. Andrew—St. Patrick
St. Andrew—St. Patrick was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that returned Members of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen's Park....
, for 32 consecutive years. Allan was also the second Jewish Canadian Cabinet minister in Ontario and the first to be a Tory. He was also the first elected Canadian official to visit China.
Background
Grossman’s father, Moishe, had left RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n occupied Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1907. Two years later, Moishe Grossman brought his wife Sarah and their then six children to Canada. Allan Grossman was the seventh child and the first member of the family to be born in Canada.
At age sixteen Grossman and a handful of other boys formed the "Junior Conservative Association of Toronto". Probably the first Toronto political organization for youths, it was the beginning of the "Young Progressive Conservatives."
Political life
Grossman became a successful businessman and organized his fellow insurance agents into a unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
to fight the entry into Canada of an allegedly communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
-dominated union from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 1951, former Toronto mayor, Nathan Phillips
Nathan Phillips (politician)
Nathan Phillips, KC was a Canadian politician and popular Mayor of Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:Born in Brockville, Ontario, the son of Jacob Phillips and Mary Rosenbloom, he was educated in public and high schools in Cornwall. In 1908, he articled with the Cornwall lawyer, Robert Smith, who later...
, then an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
, was vacating his council seat to run for mayor. He persuaded Grossman to run in his ward against the Labour-Progressive Party
Labour-Progressive Party
For the Labour-Progressive Coalition Government in New Zealand see the Fifth Labour Government of New ZealandThe Labor-Progressive Party was the legal political organization of the Communist Party of Canada between 1943 and 1959....
(as the Communists were known) candidate who had narrowly been defeated during the previous year's election. Grossman ran and defeated the Communist candidate by a margin of 131 votes. The following year he won by 2,000 votes and became the senior alderman and one of the founding members of the Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
Council. He was re-elected alderman in the subsequent two annual elections.
In 1955, he ran provincially as the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
candidate against the Labour-Progressive Party incumbent J. B. Salsberg
J. B. Salsberg
Joseph Baruch Salsberg was a Canadian politician, long time Communist and activist in the Jewish community.-Early life:...
for the downtown Toronto riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of St. Andrew Grossman won, defeating the last Communist in the Ontario legislature.
In 1960, Ontario Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Leslie Frost
Leslie Frost
Leslie Miscampbell Frost, was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the 16th Premier from May 4, 1949 to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man Ontario".-Early years:...
appointed Grossman to the Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
as Minister Without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
, becoming the first Jewish cabinet minister in Ontario since David Croll
David Croll
David Arnold Croll, PC, QC was a Canadian politician.-Early life:Croll was born in a shtetl in Russia's Pale of Settlement and was brought to Canada with his family as a young boy, at which point his name was anglicized...
. Grossman went on to serve under Premier John Robarts
John Robarts
John Parmenter Robarts, PC, CC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and statesman, and the 17th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...
as Chief Liquor Commissioner and Minister of Reform Institutions (now Correctional Services). During his nearly eight years as minister Grossman became renowned throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for his innovative and progressive penal reforms. His leadership was recognized with numerous citations, and in 1971 the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
bestowed upon him with an honorary doctorate
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
in Criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
.
In 1971, Grossman was appointed by Robarts successor, Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
. as Minister of Trade and Development, with additional responsibility for Housing. He led the first trade mission from the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Grossman became Minister of Revenue in 1972 and continued his responsibility for housing. He introduced Ontario's tax credit program to assist the elderly and low income families and eliminated much of the red tape that generally plagues a tax-collecting Ministry. In 1974, Grossman became the Provincial Secretary for Resources Development with overall policy responsibility for seven ministries.
Outside of politics Grossman fought to help the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
freedom fighters and their Canadian relatives; the citizens of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
who cried for freedom during the Russian invasion; and, as President of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Service, he assisted homeless persons.
After politics
After retiring from public life in 1975, Allan Grossman served as chairman of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (Canada) until 1984 and he worked on his son's campaigns for the Ontario PC leadershipOntario Progressive Conservative leadership conventions, 1985
In 1985, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party held two leadership elections: one in January, and one in November.-The January Convention:The January convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to choose a replacement for William Davis, who had served as Ontario PC leader and Premier...
in 1985 and afterwards served as a volunteer advisor to Larry and the Ontario Tory caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
.
In 1985, a biography was published, Unlikely Tory: The Life and Politics of Allan Grossman by Peter Oliver ISBN 0-88619-049-5 .