Lyon Cohen was a Jewish Canadian publisher, businessman and a philanthropist.

In 1897, Cohen co-founded with Samuel William Jacobs

Samuel William Jacobs

For the Australian footballer see Sam Jacobs Samuel William Jacobs, K.C., was a Canadian lawyer, Member of Parliament and a leader of the Canadian Jewish community. For many years he was the only Jewish MP in the Canadian House of Commons...

, the Canadian Jewish Times, the first English language Jewish newspaper in Canada, and was president of the Jewish Colonization Association

Jewish Colonization Association

The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...

 in Canada.

He was elected the first president of the Canadian Jewish Congress

Canadian Jewish Congress

The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...

 in 1919 and organized the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Canada.

Cohen was also a leader of the Young Men’s Hebrew Benevolent Society (later the Baron de Hirsch Institute) and the United Talmud Torahs, a Jewish day school in Montreal.

His grandson is singer and poet Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

.