Canadian Politician, Political Scientist, Author, Humanitarian, and Entrepreneur. He served as Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP from July 7, 1975, to December 5, 1989. He also served as a member of Parliament from June 25, 1968, to February 1, 1990, and again from June 28, 2004, to January 23, 2006. He was born as John Edward Broadbent to Percy Broadbent (1909-1976), and his wife Mary Anastasia Walsh Broadbent (1911-1983), in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, on March 21, 1936. His father worked at General Motors in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and his mother was a homemaker. His siblings included Velma Marie Broadbent (1931-2013). He was educated locally and later received a Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a thesis titled, "The Good Society Of John Stuart Mill," under the supervision of Crawford Brough "C.B." Macpherson (1911-1987), an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He began his career as a university professor and soon became interested in politics. He was elected to represent the riding of Oshawa-Whitby as a Member of Parliament or MP in the Canadian House of Commons during the 1968 general election. He defeated the outgoing Member of Parliament or MP Michael Starr (1910-1990), a former cabinet member under the former Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker (1895-1979), and acting leader of the opposition by just fifteen votes. A member of the New Democratic Party or NDP, he began serving his term on June 25, 1968. During this time, he set his sights on becoming the party's new leader following the retirement of the current leader Tommy Douglas (1904-1986), but was eliminated on the second ballot of the 1971 leadership convention and David Lewis (1909-1981), then became the Leader of the New Democrat Pay or NDP. He however, had to retire due to his ill health the following year and he was then able to take leadership of the New Democrat Party or NDP after winning the leadership election. He began serving as Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP on July 7, 1975, and would lead the party through four national elections. During the 1979 federal election, his party had a seat count of 17 to 26, during the 1980 federal election only nine months later the party had 27 to 32 seats, during the 1984 federal election the party finished with seats just behind the Liberal Party which was led by John Turner who had ten seats, and during the 1988 federal election won 43 seats, a record unchallenged until the 2011 federal election, when it won 103 seats. During his time as the Leader of the New Democrat Party or NDP, he was involved in several noteworthy events including when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000), approached him about the possibility of forming a coalition government even though his Liberal Party had just returned with a working majority government in 1979, he along with John Turner (1929-2020), supported Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's proposed Meech Lake Accord which proposed recognizing the Province of Quebec as a distinct society and extending provincial powers, which led to some dissent within the New Democratic Party or NDP in 1987, and he gained criticism for not making the New Democratic Party or NDP opposition to the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement the main issue during the federal election in 1988. Following fourteen years as the Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP he stepped down at the Winnipeg Convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on December 5, 1989. During his time in office, he gained both friends and enemies. Following his retirement from politics, the New Democratic Party or NDP declined in popularity. The New Democrat Party or NDP would not come close to the popularity that it had enjoyed under his leadership until the late Jack Layton (1950-2011), took over the leadership on January 25, 2003. He was succeeded in office by the incoming Audrey McLaughlin, a politician, author, business consultant, researcher, social worker, and teacher. He then continued in politics representing the riding of Oshawa-Whitby as a Member of Parliament or MP in the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, until his retirement on February 1, 1990. He also served as a Vice-President of Socialist International from 1979 to 1989, during which time Willy Brandt, the former chancellor of West Germany, was its president, and director of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development from 1990 to 1996. He also spent a year abroad as a Fellow at the prestigious All Souls College at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from 1996 to 1997. After some years away from politics, he decided to run for a seat to represent the riding of Ottawa Centre as a Member of Parliament or MP in the Canadian House of Commons and was elected. He defeated the Liberal Party Member Candidate, Richard J. Mahoney, a close ally of then Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin. He succeeded the outgoing Mac Harb and took office on June 28, 2004. While serving in office, he was a Critic for Democracy: Parliamentary & Electoral Reform, Corporate Accountability as well as Child Poverty. He announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2006 federal election to his seat on May 4, 2005, and once again retired from politics following his term on January 23, 2006. He did however, come out of retirement in 2008, to help to negotiate along with former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien to create a formal coalition agreement between the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party or NDP, which the Bloc Québécois would support. The Conservative government led by then Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper would have been the first coalition government in Canada since World War I, when Prime Minister of Canada Robert Borden (1854-1937), governed as a Unionist. The Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean, prorogued parliament in December 2008 at then Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper's request, but the idea was quashed. He later chaired the Broadbent Institute, a Canadian progressive and social democratic think tank that he founded on June 17, 2011. The Broadbent Institute also provided education, and trained activists. He also endorsed Brian Topp, a political strategist, union leader, and writer, in his unsuccessful campaign during the 2012 leadership election. He also showed support for the campaign for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly in 2017, an organization that advocates for democratic reform in the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system. He was the author of the written works, "The Liberal Rip–off: Trudeauism Versus The Politics Of Equality" (1970), "Democratic Equality: What Went Wrong?" (2001, as editor), and "Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight For Equality" (2023), which is a detailed reflection on his life and career, co-authored with academic Francis Abele, policy strategist Jonathan Sas, and journalist Luke Savage. He was lastly, a Fellow in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, until his death. He passed away in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on January 11, 2024, at the age of 87. He was married to Yvonne Yamaoaka Broadbent, a Japanese Canadian town planner whose family had been interned by the federal government in World War II, from 1961 until they divorced in 1967. He was also married to Lucille Munroe, a young Franco-Ontarian widow, from 1971 until her death on November 17, 2006, at the age of 71, and to Ellen Meiksins Wood Broadbent (1942-2016), a noted Marxist historian, a political theorist and socialist historian, author of several books, and a professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for three decades from 2014 until her death from cancer on January 14, 2016, at the age of 73. For his contributions, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993 and then was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001. The Ed Broadbent fonds are located at the Library and Archives Canada Building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Canadian Politician, Political Scientist, Author, Humanitarian, and Entrepreneur. He served as Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP from July 7, 1975, to December 5, 1989. He also served as a member of Parliament from June 25, 1968, to February 1, 1990, and again from June 28, 2004, to January 23, 2006. He was born as John Edward Broadbent to Percy Broadbent (1909-1976), and his wife Mary Anastasia Walsh Broadbent (1911-1983), in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, on March 21, 1936. His father worked at General Motors in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and his mother was a homemaker. His siblings included Velma Marie Broadbent (1931-2013). He was educated locally and later received a Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a thesis titled, "The Good Society Of John Stuart Mill," under the supervision of Crawford Brough "C.B." Macpherson (1911-1987), an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He began his career as a university professor and soon became interested in politics. He was elected to represent the riding of Oshawa-Whitby as a Member of Parliament or MP in the Canadian House of Commons during the 1968 general election. He defeated the outgoing Member of Parliament or MP Michael Starr (1910-1990), a former cabinet member under the former Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker (1895-1979), and acting leader of the opposition by just fifteen votes. A member of the New Democratic Party or NDP, he began serving his term on June 25, 1968. During this time, he set his sights on becoming the party's new leader following the retirement of the current leader Tommy Douglas (1904-1986), but was eliminated on the second ballot of the 1971 leadership convention and David Lewis (1909-1981), then became the Leader of the New Democrat Pay or NDP. He however, had to retire due to his ill health the following year and he was then able to take leadership of the New Democrat Party or NDP after winning the leadership election. He began serving as Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP on July 7, 1975, and would lead the party through four national elections. During the 1979 federal election, his party had a seat count of 17 to 26, during the 1980 federal election only nine months later the party had 27 to 32 seats, during the 1984 federal election the party finished with seats just behind the Liberal Party which was led by John Turner who had ten seats, and during the 1988 federal election won 43 seats, a record unchallenged until the 2011 federal election, when it won 103 seats. During his time as the Leader of the New Democrat Party or NDP, he was involved in several noteworthy events including when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000), approached him about the possibility of forming a coalition government even though his Liberal Party had just returned with a working majority government in 1979, he along with John Turner (1929-2020), supported Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's proposed Meech Lake Accord which proposed recognizing the Province of Quebec as a distinct society and extending provincial powers, which led to some dissent within the New Democratic Party or NDP in 1987, and he gained criticism for not making the New Democratic Party or NDP opposition to the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement the main issue during the federal election in 1988. Following fourteen years as the Leader of the New Democratic Party or NDP he stepped down at the Winnipeg Convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on December 5, 1989. During his time in office, he gained both friends and enemies. Following his retirement from politics, the New Democratic Party or NDP declined in popularity. The New Democrat Party or NDP would not come close to the popularity that it had enjoyed under his leadership until the late Jack Layton (1950-2011), took over the leadership on January 25, 2003. He was succeeded in office by the incoming Audrey McLaughlin, a politician, author, business consultant, researcher, social worker, and teacher. He then continued in politics representing the riding of Oshawa-Whitby as a Member of Parliament or MP in the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, until his retirement on February 1, 1990. He also served as a Vice-President of Socialist International from 1979 to 1989, during which time Willy Brandt, the former chancellor of West Germany, was its president, and director of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development from 1990 to 1996. He also spent a year abroad as a Fellow at the prestigious All Souls College at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from 1996 to 1997. After some years away from politics, he decided to run for a seat to represent the riding of Ottawa Centre as a Member of Parliament or MP in the Canadian House of Commons and was elected. He defeated the Liberal Party Member Candidate, Richard J. Mahoney, a close ally of then Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin. He succeeded the outgoing Mac Harb and took office on June 28, 2004. While serving in office, he was a Critic for Democracy: Parliamentary & Electoral Reform, Corporate Accountability as well as Child Poverty. He announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2006 federal election to his seat on May 4, 2005, and once again retired from politics following his term on January 23, 2006. He did however, come out of retirement in 2008, to help to negotiate along with former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien to create a formal coalition agreement between the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party or NDP, which the Bloc Québécois would support. The Conservative government led by then Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper would have been the first coalition government in Canada since World War I, when Prime Minister of Canada Robert Borden (1854-1937), governed as a Unionist. The Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean, prorogued parliament in December 2008 at then Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper's request, but the idea was quashed. He later chaired the Broadbent Institute, a Canadian progressive and social democratic think tank that he founded on June 17, 2011. The Broadbent Institute also provided education, and trained activists. He also endorsed Brian Topp, a political strategist, union leader, and writer, in his unsuccessful campaign during the 2012 leadership election. He also showed support for the campaign for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly in 2017, an organization that advocates for democratic reform in the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system. He was the author of the written works, "The Liberal Rip–off: Trudeauism Versus The Politics Of Equality" (1970), "Democratic Equality: What Went Wrong?" (2001, as editor), and "Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight For Equality" (2023), which is a detailed reflection on his life and career, co-authored with academic Francis Abele, policy strategist Jonathan Sas, and journalist Luke Savage. He was lastly, a Fellow in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, until his death. He passed away in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on January 11, 2024, at the age of 87. He was married to Yvonne Yamaoaka Broadbent, a Japanese Canadian town planner whose family had been interned by the federal government in World War II, from 1961 until they divorced in 1967. He was also married to Lucille Munroe, a young Franco-Ontarian widow, from 1971 until her death on November 17, 2006, at the age of 71, and to Ellen Meiksins Wood Broadbent (1942-2016), a noted Marxist historian, a political theorist and socialist historian, author of several books, and a professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for three decades from 2014 until her death from cancer on January 14, 2016, at the age of 73. For his contributions, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993 and then was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2001. The Ed Broadbent fonds are located at the Library and Archives Canada Building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Bio by: The Silent Forgotten
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