Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent — a widely respected figure described as a “giant” of Canadian politics by one of his former rivals — will be laid to rest today in a state funeral in Ottawa.
Broadbent, who led the NDP for 14 years and through four elections, died on Jan. 11 at the age of 87.
The ceremony will be held at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre in Ottawa starting at 4 p.m. ET. CBC News will carry the funeral live.
State funerals are usually limited to current and former governors general, prime ministers and cabinet ministers, but a sitting prime minister can order one for any eminent Canadian.
In announcing a state funeral for Broadbent, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) called him a “much-loved national figure” and said he was being honoured for “shaping the country’s political landscape.”
WATCH | At Issue: Ed Broadbent’s legacy
At Issue | Ed Broadbent’s legacy
16 days ago
Duration 23:51
At Issue this week: The legacy of former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, who died Thursday at 87. New documents show the federal government was warned two years ago that high immigration levels could affect housing costs. Plus, Saskatchewan’s carbon tax showdown.
Broadbent is just the second opposition leader in Canadian history — and the first who did not die while still in office — to be given a state funeral. Former prime minister Stephen Harper offered Jack Layton’s family a state funeral after the NDP leader died at age 61 in August 2011, following a battle with cancer.
Current NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and longtime NDP strategist Brian Topp are expected to speak at the funeral, according to Canadian Heritage officials. Government representatives and dignitaries, members of the public, former colleagues, close friends and family members also will be in attendance.
At the request of the family, there will be no lying in state.
Born in Oshawa, Ont., Broadbent spent nearly a quarter of a century in the House of Commons and remained active in public policy afterwards by launching the Broadbent Institute policy think-tank.
While leading the NDP from 1975-1989, Broadbent focused on pocketbook issues and pushed his party to a then-unprecedented first place in the polls, making the NDP a politically viable alternative to the Liberal and Conservative parties.
In the 1988 election — a bitter campaign fought over the free trade deal — he pushed the party to the brink of a breakthrough with 43 seats. That made Broadbent the NDP’s most successful leader ever — a title he’d hold until Layton’s “orange wave” election in 2011.
New Democratic Party Leader Ed Broadbent and NDP finance critic Bob Rae (right) attend a news conference in Ottawa on Dec. 4, 1979. (Rod MacIver/UPC/The Canadian Press)
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney, one of Broadbent’s chief political opponents in the 1980s, called him a “giant in the Canadian political scene.”
“He would have been prime minister if he had been leading any other party,” he told CBC’s Power & Politics on the day of Broadbent’s passing.
Mulroney said Broadbent was “extremely pleasant” but also a “tough and strong debater.”
“I consider him a great parliamentarian and a major contributor to Canadian progress during the decade and a half we were together,” he said.
Broadbent acted as an elder statesman for the NDP
After failing to realize his dream of forming the Official Opposition, Broadbent stepped down in 1989. But he was lured back more than a decade later by Layton and won the Ottawa Centre riding in 2004.
He did not seek re-election due to the worsening health of his wife. Lucille Broadbent died of breast cancer in 2006.
He remained a respected elder statesman for the NDP and, along with former prime minister Jean Chrétien, helped to negotiate the formal coalition agreement between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party to replace Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2008. The coalition talks died after Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean prorogued Parliament at Harper’s request in December 2008.
New Democratic Party member of Parliament Ed Broadbent receives a standing ovation while standing to vote in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on November 28, 2005. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Singh called Broadbent “a lifelong champion of our movement and our party” and a personal mentor.
“I have often said that Ed was who I wanted to be when I grew up. He taught me about leadership and how to turn political principle into actions that helped improve the lives of Canadians,” he said.
Bob Rae, once an NDP MP under Broadbent and now Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the former leader had an attribute often missing from politics: kindness.
“The thing he believed in more than anything else was decency. He was a decent guy. He treated people fairly,” Rae told CBC’s Power & Politics.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
