Ed Broadbent
Encyclopedia
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, (born March 21, 1936) is a Canadian
social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party
(NDP) from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election
, he returned to Parliament
for one additional term as the Member of Parliament
for Ottawa Centre
.
, Ontario
. His father Percy Edward was a General Motors
clerk, his mother Mary Welsh an Irish Catholic
homemaker. Ed is the middle of three children. He studied philosophy
at Trinity College
in the University of Toronto
, graduating in 1959 first in his class.
Broadbent trained as a Pilot Officer
in the RCAF's University Reserve Training Plan.
In 1961, he married Yvonne Yamaoka, a Japanese Canadian town planner whose family was interned by the federal government in World War II
. They divorced in 1967. On September 22, 1988, when the Mulroney
government apologized for the internment, Broadbent brought up Yamaoka's experiences during his remarks in the House of Commons.
In 1971, he married a young Franco-Ontarian
widow, Lucille Munroe; he had no children with her but did become the stepfather to Lucille's son Paul Broadbent, who is a defence policy specialist with the Ministry of Defence in London, England; the couple also adopted a baby girl, Christine. He has four grandchildren.
He has a Ph.D.
in political science
from the University of Toronto
(1966), and his Ph.D. thesis was titled The Good Society of John Stuart Mill. He is a former member of the Royal Canadian Air Force
, and is currently Fellow in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University
, Canada.
from Oshawa—Whitby
in the 1968 general election
, defeating former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Michael Starr
by 15 votes. In 1971, he ran for the leadership of the party but lost to David Lewis
at the NDP leadership convention. He won the 1975 leadership election to succeed Lewis, and led the party through four elections.
In his early years as leader of the party, Broadbent was criticized for his long and complex speeches on industrial organization, but he came to be known as an honest and charismatic politician in person. He was one of the first Canadian politicians to stage a large number of political events in the workplace.
The NDP finished with 30 seats in the 1984 campaign
, just ten behind the Liberal Party
led by John Turner
. Several polls afterward showed that Broadbent was the most popular party leader in Canada. Broadbent was the only leader ever to take the NDP to first place in public opinion polling, and some pundits felt that the NDP could supplant Turner's Liberals as the primary opposition to Brian Mulroney
's Progressive Conservatives
.
Nonetheless, he was not successful in translating this into an election victory in the 1988 federal election
, since the Liberals reaped most of the benefits from opposing free trade
. However, the NDP elected a party record 43 seats, a record unchallenged until the 2011 election, in which the NDP won 103 seats and Jack Layton
became the leader of the opposition.
On the international front, while Willy Brandt
was President of the Socialist International
, Broadbent served as a Vice-President from 1979 to 1989. He stepped down after 15 years as federal leader of the NDP in 1989 at the Winnipeg Convention, where he was succeeded by Audrey McLaughlin
. In the decade following Broadbent's retirement from politics, the federal NDP declined in popularity.
Broadbent was director of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
from 1990 to 1996. In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
and was promoted to Companion in 2001.
Broadbent spent a year as Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford
, in 1996-7. At the invitation of the new federal NDP leader, Jack Layton
, he returned to politics in 2004, with the aid of a humorous and popular video clip, to successfully run for Parliament in the riding of Ottawa Centre
, where he now lives. He easily defeated Liberal Party of Canada
candidate Richard Mahoney
, a close ally of Prime Minister
Paul Martin
.
In the NDP shadow cabinet
, Broadbent was Critic for Democracy: Parliamentary & Electoral Reform, Corporate Accountability as well as Child Poverty.
On May 4, 2005, he announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2006 federal election
in order to spend time with his wife, Lucille, who was suffering from cancer
. She died on November 17, 2006.
came out of retirement to help negotiate a formal coalition agreement between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party, which would be supported by the Bloc Québécois
. The coalition was formed in a bid to replace the Conservative
Government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper
, and would have been the first in Canada since World War I
.
On June 17 2011, he announced the creation of a new institute to explore social democratic policy and ideas. The Broadbent Institute will reach out to social democrat-leaning academics for their ideas, provide education and train activists, but be independent from the party.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP) from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, he returned to Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
for one additional term as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
.
Life and career
Broadbent was born in OshawaOshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. His father Percy Edward was a General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
clerk, his mother Mary Welsh an Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
homemaker. Ed is the middle of three children. He studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Trinity College
University of Trinity College
The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...
in the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, graduating in 1959 first in his class.
Broadbent trained as a Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
in the RCAF's University Reserve Training Plan.
In 1961, he married Yvonne Yamaoka, a Japanese Canadian town planner whose family was interned by the federal government in World War II
Japanese Canadian internment
Japanese Canadian internment refers to confinement of Japanese Canadians in British Columbia during World War II. The internment began in December 1941, following the attack by carrier-borne forces of Imperial Japan on American naval and army facilities at Pearl Harbor...
. They divorced in 1967. On September 22, 1988, when the Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
government apologized for the internment, Broadbent brought up Yamaoka's experiences during his remarks in the House of Commons.
In 1971, he married a young Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
widow, Lucille Munroe; he had no children with her but did become the stepfather to Lucille's son Paul Broadbent, who is a defence policy specialist with the Ministry of Defence in London, England; the couple also adopted a baby girl, Christine. He has four grandchildren.
He has a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(1966), and his Ph.D. thesis was titled The Good Society of John Stuart Mill. He is a former member of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
, and is currently Fellow in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, Canada.
Politics
He was a university professor when he ran and won election to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
from Oshawa—Whitby
Oshawa (electoral district)
Oshawa is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968....
in the 1968 general election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
, defeating former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Michael Starr
Michael Starr
Michael Starr, PC was a Canadian politician and the first Canadian cabinet minister of Ukrainian descent, his parents having immigrated from Ukraine, then a part of the Russian Empire....
by 15 votes. In 1971, he ran for the leadership of the party but lost to David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)
David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961...
at the NDP leadership convention. He won the 1975 leadership election to succeed Lewis, and led the party through four elections.
In his early years as leader of the party, Broadbent was criticized for his long and complex speeches on industrial organization, but he came to be known as an honest and charismatic politician in person. He was one of the first Canadian politicians to stage a large number of political events in the workplace.
The NDP finished with 30 seats in the 1984 campaign
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
, just ten behind the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
led by John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
. Several polls afterward showed that Broadbent was the most popular party leader in Canada. Broadbent was the only leader ever to take the NDP to first place in public opinion polling, and some pundits felt that the NDP could supplant Turner's Liberals as the primary opposition to Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
's Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
.
Nonetheless, he was not successful in translating this into an election victory in the 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, since the Liberals reaped most of the benefits from opposing free trade
Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement
The Free Trade Agreement was a trade agreement signed by Canada and the United States on October 4, 1988. The agreement, finalized by October 1987, removed several trade restrictions in stages over a ten year period, and resulted in a great increase in cross-border trade...
. However, the NDP elected a party record 43 seats, a record unchallenged until the 2011 election, in which the NDP won 103 seats and Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
became the leader of the opposition.
On the international front, while Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....
was President of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
, Broadbent served as a Vice-President from 1979 to 1989. He stepped down after 15 years as federal leader of the NDP in 1989 at the Winnipeg Convention, where he was succeeded by Audrey McLaughlin
Audrey McLaughlin
Audrey McLaughlin, PC, OC was leader of Canada's New Democratic Party from 1989 to 1995. She was the first female leader of a political party with representation in the Canadian House of Commons, as well as the first federal political party leader to represent an electoral district in a Canadian...
. In the decade following Broadbent's retirement from politics, the federal NDP declined in popularity.
Broadbent was director of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development , is a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution that was established by an act of the Canadian parliament in 1988 to "encourage and support the universal values of human rights and the promotion of democratic institutions...
from 1990 to 1996. In 1993, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and was promoted to Companion in 2001.
Broadbent spent a year as Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, in 1996-7. At the invitation of the new federal NDP leader, Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
, he returned to politics in 2004, with the aid of a humorous and popular video clip, to successfully run for Parliament in the riding of Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
, where he now lives. He easily defeated Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate Richard Mahoney
Richard Mahoney
Richard J. Mahoney is a Canadian lawyer, specializing in public policy and regulatory law. He is also a prominent member of the Liberal Party of Canada, known as a strategist and advisor to former Prime Minister Paul Martin. He ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Ottawa Centre during the...
, a close ally of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
.
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
, Broadbent was Critic for Democracy: Parliamentary & Electoral Reform, Corporate Accountability as well as Child Poverty.
On May 4, 2005, he announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
in order to spend time with his wife, Lucille, who was suffering from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. She died on November 17, 2006.
Retirement
In November 2008, Broadbent and former Prime Minister Jean ChrétienJean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
came out of retirement to help negotiate a formal coalition agreement between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party, which would be supported by the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
. The coalition was formed in a bid to replace the Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, and would have been the first in Canada since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
On June 17 2011, he announced the creation of a new institute to explore social democratic policy and ideas. The Broadbent Institute will reach out to social democrat-leaning academics for their ideas, provide education and train activists, but be independent from the party.
External links
- How'd They Vote?: Ed Broadbent's voting history and quotes
- CBC Digital Archives - Ed Broadbent: A Voice from the Left
- Rick Mercer Report segment (February 2004)
- CBC News INDEPTH: Ed Broadbent