High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! David Lewis, CC (born David Losz; June 23, or October 1909 – May 23, 1981) was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. In 1962, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP), in the Canadian House of Commons, for the York South electoral district. While an MP, he was elected the NDP`s national leader, where he served from 1971 to 1975. After his defeat in the 1974 federal election, he stepped down as leader and retired from politics. He spent his last years as a university professor and travel correspondent for the Toronto Star. In retirement, he was named to the Order of Canada for his political service. After a lengthy battle with cancer, he died in Ottawa in 1981.