Leon Crestohl

Who was Leon Crestohl?

Leon David Crestohl was a Canadian lawyer and politician.

Born in Warsaw, then Russian Empire, the son of Rabbi Hyman Meyer Crestohl, he emigrated with his family to Canada in 1911 living in Quebec City before moving to Montreal in 1919. Crestohl was educated at McGill University and the Université de Montréal. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1926 and was made a King's Counsel in 1944. During World War II, he served as Crown Counsel for the Wartime Prices and Trade Board in Montreal.

Crestohl was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for Cartier in a 1950 by-election held after the death of the previous MP, Maurice Hartt. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1953, 1957, 1958, and 1962.