Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent dead at 87

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Jan, 2024 01:08 PM
  • Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent dead at 87

Ed Broadbent, a former leader of the federal New Democrats, has died at age 87, says a statement from the institute he founded.

In sharing the news of his passing on Thursday, the Ottawa think tank he founded and which bears his name, called him a "fierce champion for ordinary Canadians."

"Ed devoted decades of his life to fighting for justice and equality in Canada and around the world," reads the written statement from the Broadbent Institute.

Current NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Broadbent "was a lifelong champion of our movement and our party."

"He dedicated his considerable gifts to the project of social democracy, never wavering in his belief that we must build a Canada that serves everyone — not just the rich and powerful."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his heartfelt condolances to the Broadbent family.

Broadbent served as a member of Parliament for a riding in his hometown of Oshawa, Ont., 21 years, and was the leader of the federal NDP for 14 years, from 1975 to 1989. He briefly returned to the House of Commons as the MP for Ottawa Centre from 2004 to 2006.

His leadership era saw him debate four different prime ministers: Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, John Turner and Brian Mulroney.

The party had 16 MPs in the 1974 election. Under his leadership, the NDP increased that number to 26 in 1979 and 32 in 1980.

Singh said in his statement it’s impossible to travel across Canada and "not meet people who were touched by Ed’s compassion, commitment, and fierce intelligence."

"He never lost sight of who we fight for. He was connected in a deep way to the values of working-class Canadians and their struggles."

Singh also praised Broadbent for his generosity, saying his advice and encouragement helped him "tremendously" when he was first elected to lead the NDP.

"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," Singh said.

BC Premier David Eby expressed his grief over Broadbent's passing away.

The Broadbent Institute’s statement quoted from his 2023 book, "Seeking Social Democracy," which the institute said leaves "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," Broadbent wrote.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

24 properties evacuated as precarious rock looms over Penticton homes

24 properties evacuated as precarious rock looms over Penticton homes
The City of Penticton says it has temporarily evacuated 24 properties in a mobile home park over fears of a potential rock slide. The city says it was notified on Tuesday morning about a large rock that may break off a cliff, and a geotechnical engineer's review prompted the evacuation of the properties in the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park.   

24 properties evacuated as precarious rock looms over Penticton homes

2nd degree murder charge laid in death of 18 year old Mehakpreet Sethi

2nd degree murder charge laid in death of 18 year old Mehakpreet Sethi
A second-degree murder charge has been laid in the death of an 18-year-old outside a Surrey high school last year. Homicide investigators say an 18-year-old man has been charged, but his name won’t be released because he was a youth at the time of the death.

2nd degree murder charge laid in death of 18 year old Mehakpreet Sethi

B.C. unfairly clawed back COVID-19 benefit to thousands during pandemic, says report

B.C. unfairly clawed back COVID-19 benefit to thousands during pandemic, says report
Thousands of people in British Columbia saw their $1,000 tax-free COVID-19 benefit unfairly clawed back by the provincial government, says an ombudsperson report. So far, 12,000 people have been told to repay their B.C. Emergency Benefit that the government said was for workers who had been affected by the pandemic, Ombudsperson Jay Chalke said Tuesday. 

B.C. unfairly clawed back COVID-19 benefit to thousands during pandemic, says report

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year
The federal government recorded a budgetary deficit of $8.2 billion between April and September, $3.9 billion of which was in September.  The finance department says in its monthly fiscal monitor that the deficit between April and September compared to a surplus of $1.7 billion during the same period last year. 

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract
Nearly 300 Rogers Communications workers have voted strongly in favour of a new contract, ending a company lockout that began two weeks ago. The United Steelworkers union Local 1944, Unit 60, says in a statement that its members voted 96 per cent in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement reached last Friday.

Locked out Rogers Communications workers in B.C. ratify five-year contract

'Bank of mom and dad' study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own

'Bank of mom and dad' study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own
A Statistics Canada study into what it calls the "bank of mom and dad" shows home ownership among young high earners in British Columbia increases more than anywhere else in Canada if their parents are homeowners, too. The study also finds that nationally, people born in the 1990s are twice as likely to own a home if their parents are homeowners, compared to those whose parents are not.

'Bank of mom and dad' study: B.C. high earners get housing boost if parents also own