Ezekiel Hart ( -- -- '' in Hebrew ; May 15 , 1770 - September 16 , 1843 ) was a Jewish Canadian businessman and politician , and the first Jew to be elected to public office in the British Empire . Ezekiel Hart ( May 15 , 1767 â `` September 16 , 1843 ) was a Jewish Canadian entrepreneur and politician , and the first Jew to be elected to public office in the British Empire .