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Statement on the passing of Ed Broadbent

It is with the heaviest of hearts that the Broadbent Institute announces the passing of our founder, Ed Broadbent. 

Our country has lost a fierce champion for ordinary Canadians, an intellectual who strongly believed in building a good society.

Ed devoted decades of his life to fighting for justice and equality in Canada and around the world. As a Member of Parliament, leader of the New Democratic Party, president of Rights & Democracy and beyond, he tirelessly advocated for all people, especially those on the margins of society. 

A steadfast advocate for equal rights, Ed played a pivotal role in enshrining rights and liberties for all peoples in our country's laws and constitution. He was a rare intellectual who could connect the challenges faced by ordinary citizens with the movements and institutions striving for economic democracy.

The Broadbent Institute celebrates Ed’s life and his immense contributions to our nation. We mourn the loss of a great Canadian.

“Ed combined a life-long passion for justice and equality, with a passion for life itself, and all the joys and happiness it has to offer. He was an extraordinary Parliamentarian and political leader. He was a deeply thoughtful intellectual. And he was wonderful company and a most wonderful friend to have. All of us who knew him will miss him, celebrate him and, hopefully, do what he would most want of us. Which is to carry on his work.” — Brian Topp, Broadbent Institute Chair of the Board of Directors

“Ed Broadbent's legacy is immeasurable and he has left an enduring mark on Canada. He stood tall in his commitment to democracy, equality, and a more inclusive society–always striving to better the lives of ordinary Canadians through his work. His visionary-style of leadership and unwavering courage inspired generations. Ed’s absence leaves a void in our hearts. At the Broadbent Institute, we remain steadfast in our dedication to advancing his mission and working to build the good society he envisioned.” — Jen Hassum, Broadbent Institute Executive Director

In the postscript to Seeking Social Democracy, Ed leaves us with an enduring vision and his hopes for what is to be done to build the good society for today and the future:

“To be humane, societies must be democratic – and, to be democratic, every person must be afforded the economic and social rights necessary for their individual flourishing. On their own, political and civil freedoms are insufficient in the realization of that goal. I believed in 1968, and I believe today, that political democracy is not enough. In the twenty-first century, the rebuilding of social democracy must be our task. Social democracy alone offers the foundation upon which the lives of people everywhere can be made dignified, just, and exciting.”

For Media Inquiries, contact
communications@broadbentinstitute.ca

Ed Broadbent, former NDP leader, dead at 87

Oshawa-born stalwart helped bring party to the brink of an electoral breakthrough

 

Catharine Tunney· CBC News · Posted: Jan 11, 2024 3:48 PM AST

 

 

Ed Broadbent delivers remarks to the start of the Progress Summit in Ottawa on April 1, 2016. The former NDP leader has died at age 87. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

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." He 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.

WATCH | Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent dies at 87 

 

Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent has died at 87

Duration 4:35

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."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilivre also posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, offering his condolences to Broadbent's family and friends.

 

 

The Current24:30 

What Ed Broadbent thinks of today’s politics

 

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

Duration 4:36

Read Transcribed Audio

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

Duration 1:22

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

Duration 1:59

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Tunney

Reporter

Catharine Tunney is a reporter with CBC's Parliament Hill bureau, where she covers national security and the RCMP. She worked previously for CBC in Nova Scotia. You can reach her at catharine.tunney@cbc.ca

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