The New Democratic Party (French: Nouveau Parti démocratique), commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The current leader of the NDP is Thomas Mulcair, who was elected in the 2012 leadership election.

The provincial wings of the NDP in Manitoba and Nova Scotia currently form the governments in those provinces. Provincial parties have previously formed governments in British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, and the territorial party formed the government in Yukon. In the 2011 federal election under the leadership of Jack Layton, the NDP won the second-most seats in the Canadian House of Commons, gaining the title of Official Opposition for the first time in Canadian history.

The NDP evolved from a merger of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The CCF grew from populist, agrarian and socialist roots into a modern socialist party. Although the CCF was part of the Christian left and the Social Gospel movement, the NDP is secular and pluralistic. It has broadened to include concerns of the New Left, and advocates issues such as gay rights, international peace, and environmental stewardship.

Bill de Blasio is a New York City elected official, holding the citywide office of New York City Public Advocate, which serves as an ombudsman between the electorate and the city government. De Blasio previously served as a New York City Council member representing the 39th District in Brooklyn (Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace).

As Public Advocate, de Blasio is first in line to succeed the New York City Mayor.

De Blasio was then elected to the New York City Council in 2001, and was subsequently re-elected in 2003 and 2005 to represent District 39, which includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace. In the Council, de Blasio chaired the Committee on General Welfare, and is a member of the Education, Environmental Protection, Finance, and Technology in Government Committees.

In 1999, De Blasio was elected a member of Community School Board 15.

Charles Joseph Angus MP (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian writer, broadcaster, musician, and politician. Angus entered electoral politics in 2004 as the successful New Democratic Party candidate in the Ontario riding of Timmins—James Bay. He was the NDP parliamentary critic for Canadian Heritage from 2004 to 2007, and was additionally critic for Agriculture from 2004 to 2006. In 2007 he became the critic for Public Works and Treasury Board, as well as the NDP spokesman for digital issues such as copyright and internet neutrality.

Charlie Angus was born in Timmins, Ontario. He began his career as community activist in Toronto. He was also a musician in the punk rock band L'Étranger with Andrew Cash, and later in the more folk-oriented Grievous Angels. He and his wife also ran a homeless shelter in the city.

In 1990, he moved to Cobalt with his family. Grievous Angels continued as a band, and quickly became a cultural institution in Northern Ontario. In 1995, Angus and his wife Brit Griffin also launched HighGrader, a magazine devoted to Northern Ontario life and culture. He has also authored a number of books, notably on regional history, and made a name for himself as an activist in the controversy around shipping Toronto's garbage to Adams Mine, a plan to which Angus and many residents of the area were opposed.

Libby Davies, MP (born February 27, 1953 in Aldershot, United Kingdom) is a Canadian politician from British Columbia. She has been the Member of Parliament for Vancouver East since 1997 and the Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2007 (alongside Thomas Mulcair under the leadership of Jack Layton and alongside Halifax MP Megan Leslie, and Hamilton MP David Christopherson since Mulcair became leader in 2012). Prior to entering federal politics, Davies helped found the Downtown Eastside Residents Association and she served as a Vancouver City Councillor from 1982 to 1993.

Davies was born in Aldershot, United Kingdom on February 27, 1953 and immigrated to Canada in 1968 with her family. She moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1969. Before being elected to Parliament, she participated in many grass-roots political organizations in Vancouver, specifically in the Downtown Eastside area. She dropped out of university to help Bruce Eriksen found the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA), an influential low-income housing advocacy group. She was instrumental in a campaign to save the Carnegie library which was later converted into the Carnegie Community Centre serving low-income adults.

Adrian Dix is a Canadian politician, serving as the MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia and as leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 provincial election.

Dix was born in Vancouver to parents Ken and Hilda, immigrants from Ireland and Britain, respectively. His parents ran the Dix Insurance Agency Ltd. on West 41st Avenue in Vancouver. Growing up in Vancouver, Dix was raised as an Anglican and attended Point Grey Secondary in the 1980s. He then went on to study history and political science at the University of British Columbia. Dix has two siblings, including a brother who is a businessman and entrepreneur, living in East Vancouver. In early March 2012 Dix was briefly questioned by Skytrain staff and let go with a warning for riding the Skytrain without a copy of the daypass fare he had allegedly purchased earlier in the day. Dix lives in Vancouver with his wife Renée Saklikar, a poet and writer.

Dix is known for keeping in shape in order to manage his Type-1 diabetes, with which he was diagnosed in his 20s.