Abraham Albert Heaps (1885-1954)

During a career spanning almost 30 years, Abraham Albert Heaps served as a labour activist, a leading left-wing politician, and a prominent supporter of Jewish interests.

Heaps was born in Leeds, England, in 1885 into a family of impoverished Jewish Polish immigrants. He trained as an upholsterer. Frustrated by the lack of opportunity in Britain, he moved to Canada in 1911.

After taking a job in the Canadian Pacific Railway coach shops in Winnipeg, Heaps became heavily involved in trade union affairs. He also entered into politics, serving as city councillor in Winnipeg until 1925. In his dual role as strike leader and city councillor during the Winnipeg General Strike, Heaps was a voice of moderation pleading for the rights of workers while seeking a peaceful resolution of the dispute. However, his major contribution came as a federal parliamentarian.

Although Heaps never became a cabinet minister or a federal party leader, he nonetheless became an influential member of the House of Commons. Between 1925 and 1940, he played a key parliamentary role in the introduction of social welfare legislation – especially old age pensions and unemployment insurance – that supported core Canadian values, providing a social safety net for the disadvantaged and transforming the role of the state in Canadian society. Moreover, at a time when anti-Semitic feeling was high, he represented Jewish interests in Parliament, keeping the plight of European Jews before the public and working for the reform of Canadian immigration policy.

Heaps died of a heart attack in 1954 while visiting England. He was buried in Leeds.

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