Samuel Steinberg, (December 25, 1905 – May 24, 1978) was a Hungarian-born Canadian businessman, investor and philanthropist. He was an immigrant to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

who transformed the grocery store founded by his mother, Steinberg's Supermarket, into one of the largest chains in the

Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. By the time of his death in 1978, Steinberg's was the largest supermarket chain in Quebec.

Life and career

When he was four years old, Steinberg's family immigrated to Canada and settled in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, where his mother opened a small

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

. In 1934, Steinberg opened his first self-service grocery

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

in the city. A visionary, he transformed food retailing through mass merchandising, mechanization, and personnel management that included a

bilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

policy for all company employees. By the end of the 1950s, his stores were a dominant force throughout the Province of Quebec, and in 1959 expanded into the province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

with the acquisition of 38

Grand Union A grand union is a rail track junction where two double-track railway or tramway lines cross at grade, often in a street intersection or crossroads. A total of sixteen railroad switches (sets of points) allow streetcars (or in rarer install ...

stores. Steinberg would drive around the city, size up an area very quickly, acquire a property, and build a store on the site. He later set up Ivanhoe Investments. Steinberg married his cousin Helen (née Roth) in 1929. The couple funded a number of

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

causes including The Pavilion of Judaism at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

, the Helen & Sam Steinberg Foundation's Geriatric

Day Hospital A day hospital is an outpatient facility where patients attend for assessment, treatment or rehabilitation during the day and then return home or spend the night at a different facility. Day hospitals are becoming a new trend in healthcare. The num ...

, the Family Career Scientist Award and the Sam Steinberg Award For Young Jewish Entrepreneur of the Year given by the Jewish Chamber of Commerce of Montreal. Steinberg was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and inducted into the

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

for his contribution to the Canadian economy. He was the subject of a 1974

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary, ''After Mr. Sam'', which explored the issue of his impending retirement and his replacement. Steinberg died from heart failure ailment on May 24, 1978 at the age of 72 after being taken to the hospital the same day. He was survived by three daughters: Marilyn (died 2022), Evelyn (died 1993) and Mitzi (died 2019). Steinberg's second-born daughter, Rita, died in 1970. Disagreement among the daughters led to the sale of the family business in 1989, and the Steinberg family name disappeared from the stores in 1992. Helen Steinberg died in 2007 at the age of 98, and she was buried next to her husband in Montreal's Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery in

Mount Royal Mount Royal (, ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The city's name is derived from the mountain's name. The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentian M ...

Life and career

See also

Notes

Further reading