The Honourable Ed Broadbent
Leader of the New Democratic Party
In office July 7, 1975 – December 5, 1989
Preceded by	David Lewis
Succeeded by	Audrey McLaughlin
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Oshawa Oshawa—Whitby (1968-1979)
In office 1968 election – February 1, 1990
Preceded by	Michael Starr
Succeeded by	Mike Breaugh
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Ottawa Centre
In office 2004 election – 2006 election
Preceded by	Mac Harb
Succeeded by	Paul Dewar
Personal details
Born	John Edward Broadbent (1936-03-21) March 21, 1936 (age 76) Oshawa, Ontario
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Yvonne Yamaoka (1961-1967, div.) Lucille Broadbent (1971-2006, dec.)
Residence	Ottawa
Profession	Politician, Professor

John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, PC CC (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.

Life and career[link]

Broadbent was born in Oshawa, 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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.

Politics[link]

He was a university professor when he ran and won election to the Canadian House of Commons 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,^[3] 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.

Broadbent and Jack Layton at a 2008 election rally in Toronto

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.

Partial election results[link]

Retirement[link]

In November 2008, Broadbent and former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

On September 12, 2011 he endorsed Brian Topp for leadership of the NDP.^[6]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ed Broadbent

External links[link]

• How'd They Vote?: Ed Broadbent's voting history and quotes
• Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 24 May 2010
• Ed Broadbent - Parliament of Canada biography
• CBC Digital Archives - Ed Broadbent: A Voice from the Left
• Rick Mercer Report segment (February 2004)
• CBC News INDEPTH: Ed Broadbent
• Concordia University Honorary Degree Citation, June 1999, Concordia University Records Management and Archives

Party political offices
Preceded by David Lewis	Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada 1975–1989	Succeeded by Audrey McLaughlin
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Electoral District created in 1968 known as Oshawa—Whitby until 1979	Member of Parliament For Oshawa 1968–1990	Succeeded by Mike Breaugh NDP
Preceded by Mac Harb Liberal	Member of Parliament For Ottawa Centre 2004–2006	Succeeded by Paul Dewar NDP

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v t e Canadian federal election, 1979 Outgoing: Liberal majority Result: Progressive Conservative minority Communist (William Kashtan, candidates) · Liberal (Pierre Trudeau, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Hardial Bains) · New Democrats (Ed Broadbent) · Progressive Conservative (Joe Clark, candidates) · Rhinoceros (Cornelius I) · Social Credit (Fabien Roy, candidates) Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.

v t e Canadian federal election, 1980 Outgoing: Progressive Conservative minority Result: Liberal majority Independent candidates · Liberal (Pierre Trudeau, candidates) · Libertarian (Linda Cain, candidates) · Marxist–Leninist (Hardial Bains) · New Democrats (Ed Broadbent, candidates) · Progressive Conservative (Joe Clark, candidates) · Rhinoceros (Cornelius I, candidates) · Social Credit (Fabien Roy) Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons.

v t e Canadian federal election, 1984 Outgoing: Liberal majority Result: Progressive Conservative majority Coalition candidate · Commonwealth (Gilles Gervais, candidates) · Communist (William Kashtan, candidates) · Confederation of Regions (Elmer Knutson) · Green (Trevor Hancock, candidates) · Liberal (John Turner, candidates) · Libertarian (Victor Levis, candidates) · Nationaliste du Québec (Denis Monière) · New Democrats (Ed Broadbent) · Progressive Conservative (Brian Mulroney, candidates) · Rhinoceros (Cornelius I, candidates) · Social Credit (Ken Sweigard, candidates) Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons. Leaders' debate on women's issues

v t e Canadian federal election, 1988 Outgoing: Progressive Conservative majority Result: Progressive Conservative majority Christian Heritage (Ed Vanwoudenberg) · Commonwealth (Gilles Gervais, candidates) · Communist (George Hewison, candidates) · Confederation of Regions (Elmer Knutson, candidates) · Green (Seymour Trieger, candidates) · Independent candidates · Liberal (John Turner, candidates) · Libertarian (Dennis Corrigan, candidates) · New Democrats (Ed Broadbent, candidates) · Progressive Conservative (Brian Mulroney, candidates) · Reform (Preston Manning) · Rhinoceros (Cornelius I, candidates) Bold indicates parties with members elected to the House of Commons. Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement

Persondata
Name	Broadbent, John Edward
Alternative names	Ed
Short description	Politician, university professor
Date of birth	March 21, 1936
Place of birth	Oshawa, Ontario
Date of death
Place of death

Brian Topp
President of the New Democratic Party
In office June 18, 2011 – September 12, 2011
Preceded by	Peggy Nash
Succeeded by	Rebecca Blaikie
Personal details
Born	(1960-07-04) July 4, 1960 (age 51)[1][2] Longueuil, Quebec
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Elbourne (since 1993)
Children	Simon and Alex
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater	McGill University
Profession	Union leader, political organizer and strategist, writer
Website	www.briantopp.ca

Brian Topp (born July 4, 1960) is a Canadian political strategist, union leader, and writer. He was a candidate for the federal leadership of the New Democratic Party during their 2012 leadership vote.^[1] Born in Longueuil, Quebec, Topp is fluent in both of Canada's official languages. He is married to Rebecca Elbourne, with whom he has two sons.^[3]

He was president of the federal New Democratic Party, is the Director of Information Services at ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) and the Executive Director and CEO of ACTRA Toronto.

Personal life[link]

Brian Topp was born in Longueuil, Quebec, and grew up in neighbouring Saint-Lambert on Montreal's south shore.^[4][5] In addition to Montreal, Topp later lived in Ottawa, Regina, Toronto, and Vancouver at various points in his life.^[6] His mother was a francophone Québécoise and his father was an anglophone from the Eastern Townships.^[5] Topp's father occasionally lectured at the McGill School of Commerce during the 1970s.^[7]

In 1993, Topp married Rebecca Elbourne with whom he has two sons.^[1] The family has an orange cat named Tigger,^[8] purported by Topp to be more charismatic than Stephen Harper.^[9] His wife ran unsuccessfully as an NDP candidate in previous elections, as did his mother-in-law. Following the NDP's breakthrough in 2011, Topp jokingly stated that it was "too bad they didn't run this time."^[10]

Topp is reputedly a fan of board games, particularly the strategic game Civilization.^[11]

Early years, education, early career[link]

Topp attended elementary school in Saint-Lambert at the francophone École Rabeau and the anglophone St. Francis of Assisi School. He attended MacDonald-Cartier High School in the Longueuil borough of Saint-Hubert for his secondary education.^[12] He studied social sciences at Champlain Regional College, a CEGEP in the Montreal-area suburb of Saint-Lambert, from 1977 to 1979. He was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and was elected to the College Board of Governors where he served on the executive committee.^[2]

In 1979 he enrolled at Montreal's McGill University where he studied history and political science.^[2][13] While at McGill he was a senior news editor with the McGill Daily, and a member of the Scarlet Key Honour Society.^[2] As a reporter for the McGill Daily in 1981 Topp asked Bob Rae – then an NDP Member of Parliament – a "disrespectful question" and, in Topp's words, Rae "blew his stack."^[1] Topp also interviewed René Lévesque, which he called "without any question the most intimidating 10 minutes that I've ever had in my life."^[14]

In 1983 Topp founded Studio Apostrophe, a graphic design and typesetting company which produced Open City Magazine (a publication described as a precursor to the Montreal Mirror),^[15] for which Topp served as editor-in-chief.^[2][13] While running his print shop, Topp was introduced to the NDP by friends of his who came seeking printing services.^[14] One of his clients was Phil Edmonston, whom Topp would later aid in his successful campaign to become an NDP MP.^[14]

Political career[link]

Brian Topp at the 2009 NDP Convention

Entry to politics: Montreal and Ottawa (1985–1993)[link]

Topp has been involved with the NDP at provincial and federal levels for several decades.^[16] He joined the NDP in 1980 in order to support Ed Broadbent.^[5] Topp was active with the NDP in Quebec long before their political breakthrough in 2011; Topp first campaigned for the NDP during a 1985 provincial byelection in Montreal.^[13] He later said that they "had a big party afterwards, dancing on tables even, because we increased our vote from one per cent to two per cent."^[13] He became active with the federal NDP during the 1988 election campaign,^[1] and first went to work in Ottawa in 1990^[17] as an aide to Montreal-area NDP MP Phil Edmonston,^[18] whom he had helped become the first elected Quebec MP in NDP history.^[19]

Romanow government (1993–2000)[link]

Topp then moved west to work with the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party as deputy chief of staff to Premier Roy Romanow from 1993 to 2000.^[16][19] While there he earned a reputation for being a dedicated but sometimes harsh political operator.^[20] After the 1999 provincial election he helped to keep a minority NDP government in power by striking a coalition agreement with the Saskatchewan Liberals.^[21] The coalition governed for four years until the NDP regained a majority mandate in the 2003 election under the leadership of Lorne Calvert.^[20]

Return to Ottawa (1997–2011)[link]

Topp co-ordinated the war room for the federal NDP during the 1997 and 2004 elections. He was the party's national campaign director in 2006 and 2008. Topp served as a senior adviser to federal leader Jack Layton during the 2011 federal election campaign,^[16][22] and was intimately involved in negotiating the attempted Liberal-NDP coalition agreement during the 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute.^[19] Topp wrote about this experience in his memoir, How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition.^[1]

He also served as an adviser to former Toronto Mayor David Miller during his successful election campaign in 2003.^[23] Topp had also been recruited by Adrian Dix to manage the British Columbia New Democratic Party's campaign in what seemed at the time to be a likely fall 2012 election.^[24] Following the conclusion of Topp's own leadership bid for the federal NDP, Dix announced that Topp is still set to be the campaign director in any future provincial campaigns.^[25]

He became president of the New Democratic Party in June 2011.^[16] When elected to the position, Jack Layton said of him, "[he's] one of the most principled and hard-working people I know. He’s been an integral part of our team for years and is just the person we need to bring us to the next level."^[13]

Although Topp is well-respected for his negotiation skills and has spoken in favour of cooperation between the NDP and the Liberals, he has rejected a merger of the parties, saying, "We don’t have to become Liberals to win office."^[3]

Candidacy for NDP leadership[link]

Brian Topp during a candidates debate on February 12, 2012 in Quebec City

On September 12, 2011, Topp announced that he was running for the 2012 NDP leadership race. Topp's name had been circulated as a leading candidate shortly following the death of his friend and colleague, Jack Layton. In an Ottawa press conference, he highlighted his roots in the party, and the fact that he's a native Québécois.

Topp indicated that if he won the NDP leadership he would seek a House of Commons seat in his native province of Quebec.^[26]

Topp had been criticized by Simon Fraser University professor Doug McArthur of using “a kind of pushy, almost bullying, operation,” and noted the similarity to the aggressive tactics that were used by Paul Martin organizers in order to win the leadership of the federal Liberals in 2003. McArthur suggested that “The strategy of the Topp machine is to run over every candidate before they have a chance to really get going”, quoting one of Topp's staffers who stated "let’s get this leadership campaign over before it even starts", and pointing to the campaign efforts to discourage Romeo Saganash from running.^[27] Prospective candidate, Peter Julian denied that pressure was applied to him, saying the candidates have "very cordial relationships among all of us."^[27] In December, it was revealed that McArthur was actively supporting Thomas Mulcair.^[28]

Topp primarily campaigned on the platform of preserving the party's principles while at the same time presenting himself as being the most able to convince voters that the NDP is capable of forming a government.^[29][30]

Policy[link]

In the first half of the leadership race, Topp released two policy planks – one regarding his plan to raise taxes and the other on his view of social democracy.^[31] Topp's tax plan would create a new income tax bracket for those making over $250,000 and would remove many of the loopholes and taxbreaks around capital gains and stock options.^[32] Topp has also come out in support of a Palestinian state.^[33]

On January 10, 2012, Topp released a policy document detailing the act he would introduce as prime minister that would reform parliament to reduce the powers of the prime minister, abolish the Senate and bring in Mixed-member proportional representation to the House of Commons.^[34]

Further policy releases have included his wish to reform some of the party's organizational structure,^[35] making protecting the environment a critical part of the nation's economy,^[36] protecting the arts in Canada,^[37] creating a national child nutrition program and expanding pharmacare coverage,^[38] as well as a plan to help support small businesses and guarantee better access to development capital.^[39]

Endorsements[link]

Brian Topp campaigning for the leadership in British Columbia with supporters Dawn Black and Joy MacPhail

Joining Topp at his announcement was Françoise Boivin, MP for Gatineau, and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, who had endorsed Jack Layton's leadership campaign in 2003.^[40] Boivin had previously considered running herself. Dawn Black, former leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, previously endorsed Topp's candidacy for the NDP leadership.^[41]

Topp picked up endorsements from nine other New Democrat MPs, including deputy leader Libby Davies. He also received endorsements from former Saskatchewan premiers Roy Romanow and Lorne Calvert,^[42] former BCNDP leader Carole James,^[43] over a dozen British Columbian MLAs^[44] and the United Steelworkers labour union.^[45]

• MPs: (13) Françoise Boivin, Gatineau;^[40] Libby Davies, Deputy NDP leader and MP for Vancouver East;^[46] Yvon Godin, Acadie—Bathurst; Alain Giguère, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin;^[47] Jean Crowder, Nanaimo—Cowichan;^[48] Kennedy Stewart, Burnaby—Douglas;^[48] Alexandre Boulerice, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie;^[49] Jasbir Sandhu, Surrey North;^[50] Jinny Sims, Newton—North Delta;^[50] Charmaine Borg, Terrebonne—Blainville;^[51] Isabelle Morin, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine; Chris Charlton, Hamilton Mountain;^[52] Sana Hassainia, Verchères—Les Patriotes (previously backed Thomas Mulclair)^[53]
• Former federal NDP leaders: (1) Ed Broadbent, former federal leader (1975–1989)^[40]
• Former provincial NDP leaders: (4) Roy Romanow, former Premier of Saskatchewan;^[54] Carole James, former leader of the British Columbia NDP;^[55] Lorne Calvert, former Premier of Saskatchewan;^[56] Dan Miller, former Premier of British Columbia^[57]
• Past MPs: (7) Jim Manly, former MP Cowichan Malahat and the Islands; Lynn Hunter, former MP Saanich and the Islands; Judy Wasylycia-Leis, former MP for Winnipeg North, and Manitoba MLA and provincial cabinet minister;^[58] Bill Siksay, former MP for Burnaby—Douglas;^[52] Rod Murphy, former MP for Churchill;^[59] John Solomon, former MP for Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre;^[60] Peter Mancini, former MP for Sydney—Victoria
• Provincial legislators: (23) Christine Melnick, Manitoba MLA and cabinet minister; Dawn Black, former MP, BC MLA, former acting leader of the BC NDP;^[61] John Horgan, BC MLA;^[62] Michelle Mungall, BC MLA;^[62] Sue Hammell, BC MLA;^[50] Harry Bains, BC MLA;^[50] Bruce Ralston, BC MLA;^[50] Jagrup Brar, BC MLA;^[50] Maurine Karagianis, BC MLA;^[55] Scott Fraser, BC MLA;^[55] Bill Routley, BC MLA;^[55] Doug Routley, BC MLA;^[55] Harry Lali, BC MLA;^[63] Katrine Conroy, BC MLA;^[64] Lana Popham, BC MLA;^[65] Kathy Corrigan, BC MLA; Raj Chouhan, BC MLA;^[66] Mat Whynott, NS MLA for Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville; Lenore Zann, NS MLA for Truro-Bible Hill;^[67] Rachel Notley, AB MLA for Edmonton Strathcona;^[68] Warren McCall, SK MLA for Regina Elphinstone-Centre;^[69] Jim Morton, NS MLA for Kings North;^[70] Maureen MacDonald, NS MLA for Halifax Needham^[71]
• Past provincial legislators: (21) Chuck Puchmayr, former BC MLA; Gerrard Jansen, former BC MLA and cabinet minister; Anita Hagen, former BC MLA and cabinet minister; Nathalie Rochefort, former Quebec Liberal MNA; John Cashore, former BC MLA and cabinet minister; Mark Koenker, former Saskatchewan MLA; Pat Atkinson, former Saskatchewan MLA;^[72] Joy MacPhail, former interim leader of BC NDP, former BC finance minister;^[62] Clay Serby, former Deputy Premier of Saskatchewan;^[73] Judy Bradley, former Saskatchewan MLA; Elwood Cowley, former Saskatchewan MLA; Darrell Cunningham, former Saskatchewan MLA; Doreen Hamilton, former Saskatchewan MLA; Deb Higgins, former Saskatchewan MLA; Judy Junor, former Saskatchewan MLA; Eldon Lautermilch, former Saskatchewan MLA; Frank Quennell, former Saskatchewan MLA; Herman Rolfes, former Saskatchewan MLA; Lorne Scott, former Saskatchewan MLA; Len Taylor, former Saskatchewan MLA; Berny Wiens, former Saskatchewan MLA^[74]
• Unions: United Steelworkers^[75]
• Other prominent individuals: Raymond Guardia, former regional executive director of ACTRA and NDP Quebec campaign director in 2011; Peter Keleghan, comedian;^[76] Doris Layton, mother of Jack Layton and widow of former PC cabinet minister Robert Layton;^[77] Derek Corrigan, Mayor of Burnaby, BC;^[78] Desmond Morton, prominent historian^[79]

Convention[link]

Just prior to the convention opening, Topp and Ed Broadbent, both defined the race as staying true to the NDP cause, by going with Topp, or moving to the centre and away from its current principles by going with Thomas Mulcair. Pundits had comparisons with New Labour in Britain under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, with Mulcair's stance on the party.^[80][81][82]

Topp finished second on the first ballot behind Mulcair, a position he maintained on the second and third ballots.^[83] He ultimately finished second on the fourth and final ballot with 42.8% of the vote to Mulcair's 57.8%.^[84] After the results were announced, Topp went on stage and reportedly told Mulcair "let me be the one to raise your hand" shortly before Mulcair made his acceptance speech.^[85] Mulcair, for his part, has signalled that he would be willing to work with Topp in the future.^[86]

Other work[link]

Topp currently serves as executive director of ACTRA Toronto (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists). He is also a member of the board of directors for Pinewood Toronto Studios, chair of the board for the Creative Arts Savings and Credit Union, a co-chair of FilmOntario, and a member of the board of directors for ROI Fund.^[2]

Topp is the author of How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition, a memoir about his experiences attempting to broker a coalition between the NDP and the Liberals to take down PM Stephen Harper's Conservative government. The book details the negotiations that he engaged in with Stéphane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton, Dawn Black, Ed Broadbent, Jean Chrétien, Roy Romanow and Allan Blakeney.^[1] The book was nominated by Samara^{[disambiguation needed ]} and the Writers' Trust of Canada as one of the "Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years."^[87]

Topp also writes a column for The Globe and Mail. In one piece, he argued against supporting tax cuts with debt and supported the deep government spending cuts of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement-led government in Greece, writing, "the root causes of all of this madness needs to be addressed in the style Prime Minister Papandreou is using to address the crisis here in Greece."^[88]

See also[link]

Canadian politics portal

• New Democratic Party
• New Democratic Party leadership election, 2012

References[link]