Aaron Hart

Life & Legacy

Aaron Philip Hart (Hebrew name; משה אורי בן יחזקאל, Moses Uri ben Ezekiel; August 16, 1724 – December 28, 1800) was a businessman in Lower Canada and one of the first Jews to settle in the colony. He is considered the father of Canadian Jewry. He was one of the founding members of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal (Shearith Israel), a wealthy man with numerous landed estates, and the married father of four sons, including the future politician Ezekiel Hart, and four daughters.