Longtime New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent, who moved the party further to the left and up in the polls, has died at 87.
The Broadbent Institute, which he founded, announced his death in a statement Thursday afternoon.
“Our country has lost a fierce champion for ordinary Canadians, an intellectual who strongly believed in building a good society,” the statement said. “Ed devoted decades of his life to fighting for justice and equality in Canada and around the world.”
John Edward Broadbent, a companion of the Order of Canada, was known to New Democrats as “Honest Ed,” “Mr. Decent” or simply “Ed,” Broadbent led the NDP for 14 years and through four elections — and even returned to the House of Commons later in life.
While he failed to realize his dream of forming the Official Opposition, over his 20-plus years in federal politics he helped to establish the NDP as a viable option for voters disenchanted by years of Liberal and Conservative governments. He was also the first leader of the New Democrats to see his party rise to first place in public opinion polling.
Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent dies at 87
Longtime New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent, who moved the party further to the left and up in the polls, has died at 87.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called Broadbent “a lifelong champion of our movement and our party” and said he was always generous with his time.
“When I was newly elected leader of our party, Ed helped me tremendously with his advice and encouragement,” Singh said in a media statement on Thursday.
“Whenever I asked anything of him — to talk through policy ideas, to help with a challenging political problem or to campaign with me — he always said ‘yes.'”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent his condolences to Broadbent’s family, friends and Canadians who are mourning his passing.
“Canada is better off because of Ed Broadbent’s selfless service,” Trudeau said in a media statement. “An advocate for equality and champion for justice, his commitment to helping others never wavered. He leaves behind an incredible legacy – one that will, no doubt, continue to inspire people across the country.”
LISTEN: Ed Broadbent on modern politics
The Current24:30What Ed Broadbent thinks of today’s politics
Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent has been part of some of the biggest moments in Canadian political history, from opposing the War Measures Act to helping shape the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He reflects on that legacy in his new book, Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight for Equality.
The second of three children, Broadbent was born in Oshawa, Ont. in 1936.
While his childhood in the union-oriented, blue-collar city would become the stuff of NDP lore, he formed his democratic socialist views after leaving home. His father, a clerk at General Motors, and his homemaker mother were both steadfast conservative voters.
After a stint in academics, during which he wrote his PhD thesis on utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill, Broadbent began his political career with the nascent NDP in 1968 when he won the riding of Oshawa—Whitby, a region he’d go on to represent for more than two decades.
He first ran for the party leadership in the 1971 race to replace Tommy Douglas, losing to David Lewis. But he snapped up the top job just a few years later, in 1975.
“When I say we’ll move to the left, I’m not content personally as a politician with nice vague generalizations. I want to think about what that means,” he said during the leadership campaign.
Ed Broadbent first in the race for NDP leader in 1971
MP Ed Broadbent throws his hat into the race to replace Tommy Douglas. Aired June 21, 1970 on CBC’s Summer Weekend.
As leader, he emphasized economic issues. He played a critical role during Joe Clark’s minority government when his party moved the non-confidence motion that brought down the Progressive Conservative government and effectively brought Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Liberal Party back to power.
Shrugging off internal dissent after he supported Trudeau’s patriation of the Constitution, Broadbent solidified his position as leader in the 1984 election.
After running a campaign focused on tax reforms, lower interest rates and equality for women, the NDP won just 10 fewer seats than the Opposition Liberals.
New Democrat Leader Ed Broadbent rises in the House of Commons on Nov. 17, 1981. (The National/CBC Archives)
In the election’s aftermath, Broadbent rode a wave of popularity in the mid-1980s, when he was consistently ahead of Liberal Leader John Turner and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in the polls.
As a benchmark of his popularity, Chatelaine magazine named him one of Canada’s 10 sexiest men. “There are many good things I would call Ed,” his wife Lucille Broadbent said at the time, laughing. “But sexy? No.”
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 Jack Layton’s “orange wave” election in 2011.
But after having set his sights on leading the Official Opposition, Broadbent was open about his feelings of disappointment. He stepped down as leader in 1989.
In his emotional resignation speech to supporters, he urged the party to find someone new to “take us the next step towards building that decent, exciting and compassionate Canada we all believe in.”
Ed Broadbent resigns as NDP leader in 1989
Ed Broadbent spoke first of the party’s key objectives on the day he announced he was stepping down as leader. Aired March 4, 1989 on The National.
During that hour-long speech, he addressed a growing debate among New Democrats about the tensions between the party’s principles and its pursuit of power.
A single-minded adherence to principle, he said, can be “narcissistically self-indulgent.”
“To pursue only power is to deny our reason for being.”
Mulroney told CBC News Network’s Power & Politics on Thursday that Broadbent was a “giant in the Canadian political scene.”
“He would have been prime minister if he had been leading any other party,” he told host David Cochrane, adding that 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.
After leaving politics, Broadbent served as director of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development from 1990 to 1996. He stayed involved in domestic issues, including a campaign to eradicate child poverty.
But Broadbent continued to field questions about an eventual return to politics. He once suggested that a second career playing for the Blue Jays would be more likely.
But he couldn’t stay away forever.
More than a decade after walking away, he was lured back by then NDP leader Jack Layton in 2004. He reintroduced himself to a new generation of voters with a rap video, “Ed’s Back.”
That time Ed Broadbent campaigned with a rap video
Fifteen years after he stepped down as NDP leader, Ed Broadbent took a run at an Ottawa seat in the 2004 election.
He went on to win Ottawa Centre in the 2004 election. He did not seek re-election due to his wife’s worsening health. Lucille Broadbent, who Ed called the love of his life, 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.
During his second period outside of politics, he helped to establish a political think-tank — the Broadbent Institute — to study issues of social democracy.
“Our founder [Tommy Douglas] well understood a political movement or idea doesn’t live in the past,” he said.
“A lot of pressure is on politicians … to win the battle that’s two months ahead rather than build for a Canada five or 10 years down. So institutions other than the party have to come in and provide this.”
FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.
Born: March 1, 1954.
Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.
Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.
Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.
Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.
Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.
Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
GATINEAU, Que. – Treasury Board President Anita Anand will take on the additional role of transport minister this afternoon, after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet to run for the Quebec Liberal leadership.
A government source who was not authorized to speak publicly says Anand will be sworn in at a small ceremony at Rideau Hall.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, but he is not expected to be at the ceremony because that is not an official role in cabinet.
Rodriguez announced this morning that he’s leaving cabinet and the federal Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent member of Parliament until January.
That’s when the Quebec Liberal leadership race is set to officially begin.
Rodriguez says sitting as an Independent will allow him to focus on his own vision, but he plans to vote with the Liberals on a non-confidence motion next week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called an election for Oct. 21, signalling the beginning of a 33-day campaign expected to focus on pocketbook issues and the government’s provocative approach to gender identity policies.
The 70-year-old Progressive Conservative leader, who is seeking a third term in office, has attracted national attention by requiring teachers to get parental consent before they can use the preferred names and pronouns of young students.
More recently, however, the former Irving Oil executive has tried to win over inflation-weary voters by promising to lower the provincial harmonized sales tax by two percentage points to 13 per cent if re-elected.
At dissolution, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Greens had three and there was one Independent and four vacancies.
J.P. Lewis, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick, said the top three issues facing New Brunswickers are affordability, health care and education.
“Across many jurisdictions, affordability is the top concern — cost of living, housing prices, things like that,” he said.
Richard Saillant, an economist and former vice-president of Université de Moncton, said the Tories’ pledge to lower the HST represents a costly promise.
“I don’t think there’s that much room for that,” he said. “I’m not entirely clear that they can do so without producing a greater deficit.” Saillant also pointed to mounting pressures to invest more in health care, education and housing, all of which are facing increasing demands from a growing population.
Higgs’s main rivals are Liberal Leader Susan Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon. Both are focusing on economic and social issues.
Holt has promised to impose a rent cap and roll out a subsidized school food program. The Liberals also want to open at least 30 community health clinics over the next four years.
Coon has said a Green government would create an “electricity support program,” which would give families earning less than $70,000 annually about $25 per month to offset “unprecedented” rate increases.
Higgs first came to power in 2018, when the Tories formed the province’s first minority government in 100 years. In 2020, he called a snap election — the first province to go to the polls after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — and won a majority.
Since then, several well-known cabinet ministers and caucus members have stepped down after clashing with Higgs, some of them citing what they described as an authoritarian leadership style and a focus on policies that represent a hard shift to the right side of the political spectrum.
Lewis said the Progressive Conservatives are in the “midst of reinvention.”
“It appears he’s shaping the party now, really in the mould of his world views,” Lewis said. “Even though (Progressive Conservatives) have been down in the polls, I still think that they’re very competitive.”
Meanwhile, the legislature remained divided along linguistic lines. The Tories dominate in English-speaking ridings in central and southern parts of the province, while the Liberals held most French-speaking ridings in the north.
The drama within the party began in October 2022 when the province’s outspoken education minister, Dominic Cardy, resigned from cabinet, saying he could no longer tolerate the premier’s leadership style. In his resignation letter, Cardy cited controversial plans to reform French-language education. The government eventually stepped back those plans.
A series of resignations followed last year when the Higgs government announced changes to Policy 713, which now requires students under 16 who are exploring their gender identity to get their parents’ consent before teachers can use their preferred first names or pronouns — a reversal of the previous practice.
When several Tory lawmakers voted with the opposition to call for an external review of the change, Higgs dropped dissenters from his cabinet. And a bid by some party members to trigger a leadership review went nowhere.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
