Saul Laskin

Infobox Officeholder


name = Saul Laskin
caption =
order = 1^st Mayor of Thunder Bay
term_start = 1970
term_end = 1972
predecessor =
successor = Walter Assef
birth_date = 15 May 1918
birth_place = Fort William, Ontario, Canada
death_date = 4 October 2008
(aged 90)
death_place = Toronto, Canada
constituency =
party = Liberal Party of Canada
spouse = Adele Tritt
profession =
religion = Judaism


footnotes =

Saul Laskin (May 15, 1918 – October 4 2008) was a Canadian politician. He was the first mayor of the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Born in Fort William, Ontario, he was the younger brother of jurist Bora Laskin. He was educated in Fort William and Toronto, and served overseas in World War Two. In 1938 he took over his father's furniture store and opened a new store in Port Arthur in 1946, which he operated until the 1980s when he moved to Toronto with his wife Adele.Kelly, Jim. " [http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=138531 City‘s 1st mayor dies] ", The Chronicle-Journal, 6 October 2008. Retrieved on 6 October 2008.]

His political career began in 1959 when he was elected as an alderman in Port Arthur. He was elected mayor in 1962, a position he would hold until 1969, when Port Arthur and Fort William amalgamated to become Thunder Bay. He was elected mayor of Thunder Bay, and held the position until 1972. Laskin was the first and only Jewish mayor elected at the Lakehead.

In 1963 federal election, he ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal in the riding of Port Arthur, losing to the New Democratic Party candidate, Douglas Fisher.

Laskin sat on the board of governors at Lakehead University for 15 years, and received an honorary doctorate and the title of Fellow of Lakehead University. In retirement, he lived in Toronto with his wife Adele Tritt whom he married in 1946.Kelly, Jim. " [http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=110101 Former Thunder Bay mayor marks 90th birthday] ", The Chronicle-Journal, 17 May 2008. Retrieved on 17 May 2008.] He died of a heart attack at the age of 90 on 4 October 2008, and is survived by five children and twelve grandchildren.

References