Remembering Ed Broadbent

Ed Broadbent was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1974 to 1989.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/archives/when-ed-broadbent-stepped-down-as-ndp-leader-1.5028383

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He was a larger than life figure in Canadian politics, often more popular personally than his party. Yet, he also took his party to unprecedented electoral success too.

He garnered a number of nicknames from “Honest Ed” to “The Greatest Man not to be prime minister” that accurately described the kind of leader and person he was.

Yesterday, word came out that Ed Broadbent had died at the age of 87.

Canada truly has lost one of the giants of politics.

The years before
Ed Broadbent was first elected to parliament under the banner of the New Democratic Party in 1968, representing Oshawa. He would go on to represent the good people of that riding for 21 years.

Then, in 1975, after David Lewis was defeated in the 1974 federal election and resigned as leader, the NDP held a leadership convention and Ed Broadbent was elected leader of the party.

Over the next 14 years, he would do battle with three prime ministers – Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney.

1979 federal election
After 11 years in government, the Liberals led by Pierre Trudeau had worn out their welcome. They had to go to the polls in 1979, having waited as long as they could.

That was where I picked up the trail of Ed Broadbent. I was nine years old and just getting interested in politics. I had grown up around it, as my family was interested in politics and talked about it all the time. My parents were staunch Conservatives going back to the days of John Diefenbaker, and really didn’t like the Liberals led by Lester Pearson then Pierre Trudeau.

They had strong opinions about Trudeau, who they disliked, and Conservative leader Joe Clark, who they liked.

They also never did like the NDP. They never gave them much thought as the third party, with little to no chance of forming government, and dismissing them out of hand.

I noticed a curious thing though, even then.

Even though they disliked the party, they liked the leader. They thought Ed Broadbent was a good man.

That was a perception I never forgot, because I would notice it over and over again over the next 40 years.

I also watched the leaders debate that year, although everything was new to me. All I really remember were the three leaders – Broadbent, Clark and Trudeau – standing at lecterns debating each other.

The Canadian people voted for change in the 1979 federal election, although, but it was a qualified endorsement.

They gave Joe Clark and his Conservatives a strong enough mandate to form a minority government, but he was just a handful of seats shy of a majority. The Liberals had the second largest number of seats, and the NDP was third. They were a surprise as, under Broadbent’s leadership, the went from 17 seats in 1975 to 26 seats in 1979.

These results meant Clark would need the support of another party in the House of Commons to pass any legislation, principally speaking, the budget. The Creditiste Party had elected six members in Quebec, and their support was all Clark needed.

However, he made a tactical error. Clark tried to govern as if he had a majority. His government crafted a budget, brought down by Finance Minister John Crosby, that would impose a gas tax. It proved to be unpopular with the people, who were already beginning to sour on the Conservatives.

The Liberals, who were the official opposition, indicated they would be voting against the budget. Broadbent and the NDP also came out against the budget. In fact, it was NDP MP and finance critic Bob Rae, who introduced the vote of non-confidence. He would go on to be the only NDP premier of Ontario; later switch parties and run for the leadership of the federal Liberals; become a Liberal MP; and serve as interim Liberal leader

The night of the vote was nationally televised because I recall watching it on the farm. The Creditiste MPs stayed home. The result was the government lost the vote of non-confidence and voters were going back to the polls.

Back then, I was disappointed that happened, and even angry the NDP chose to gang up on the Conservatives.

It proved to be detrimental to not only the Conservatives but the Liberals.

The federal election was set for February 18, 1980 – my 10th birthday.

1980 federal election and after
Pierre Trudeau had resigned as Liberal leader after the 1979 election, but quickly came back smelling a chance to regain power in 1980. So once more Trudeau, Clark and Broadbent would square off.

This time, I remember the leaders’ debate a little better. My overriding thought was that three people made it very difficult to have a debate without people talking over and interrupting each other.

Still, I found Ed Broadbent even then, to be hard-hitting, but civil and professional.

The voters returned the Liberals to power, giving Trudeau another majority government and dealing Clark a humiliating defeat. This would lead to his downfall as Conservative leader and hasten the ascendancy of Brian Mulroney.

The NDP went into the 1980 election with 27 seats, having added one in a byelection, and increased their seat total again, this time to 32. Broadbent’s leadership was increasing the popularity of the party.

Yet, once more, he was in the role of leader of the third party in the House of Commons. There is a certain freedom in that because then parties can hold true to their principles, which Broadbent and the NDP did.

He continued to fight for the average Canadian and the working class.

Part of that philosophy was supporting the patriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982, which enshrined a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Soon the winds of change swept Canadian politics and the landscape would look very different. In 1983, the Progressive Conservative Party selected Brian Mulroney as their new leader. A year later Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau went for his famous walk in the snow and decided it was finally time to retire from politics. Subsequently the Liberal Party selected John Turner as their new leader, which also made him the new prime minister of Canada.

I still recall an interview with Broadbent after Turner’s selection. He always tried to paint the Liberals and Conservatives as the parties of big business and corporate Canada, looking out only for Canada’s richest citizens. He referred to the fact both were lawyers, and for big corporations.

Upon hearing of the election of John Turner as Liberal leader in 1984, reporters asked Broadbent’s reaction. He said they were the same, it could have been Brian Turner and John Mulroney

I always laughed at that.

1984 federal election and after
After the 1984 federal election, it was the Conservatives who were laughing, as Brian Mulroney and company had won the biggest majority in history, taking 211 of 282 seats, reducing the Liberals to 40 seats and the NDP to 30. Interestingly, the NDP only had one fewer seat than before and, during election night, flirted with the idea of being the Official Opposition

The people of Canada had spoken.

The Mulroney government had an ambitious agenda that included dismantling the National Energy Program, bringing Quebec into the constitutional family, and negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States.

The Conservatives settled into governing, but immediately started making gaffes that ate into their credibility with voters, such as the attempt to de-index old age pensions, and the infamous “Tuna-gate”. Meanwhile, the Liberals were still smarting from the rebuke given to them by the electorate and they too had made their fair share of gaffes leading up to the 1984 federal election.

The net result was that voters were not sure who to turn to so, for the first time, they gave the NDP a closer look. After all, they had a leader who already was more popular than his party and more popular in many circles than the leaders of the two main parties.

I still remember exactly where I was when I heard the news – the library at Kate Andrews High School in Coaldale. In the Spring and Summer of 1987, the NDP, led by Ed Broadbent, topped the public opinion polls. They were ahead of the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Yet, forming government was not meant to be for the NDP.

The Canadian government had negotiated a free-trade agreement with the United States. The decision divided the country into those claiming the deal would save Canada against those claiming it would kill Canada. After passing through the House of Commons, the free-trade agreement was stalled in the Senate.

John Turner, whose Liberals vehemently opposed free trade, instructed the Liberal-dominated Senate to hold up ratifying the free-trade agreement until an election could be held on the matter.

The people would have the final decision.

The 1988 election was fought over free trade. The incumbent Conservatives campaigned on its passage and the benefits it would bring to Canada, while the Liberals and the NDP opposed free trade. As always, Broadbent defended the interests of workers, labour standards and environmental standards.

Although both the Liberals and the NDP gained seats in the election, Canadians gave the Conservatives their second straight majority government with 169 seats. The Liberals increased to 83 seats and the NDP increased their seat total to 43.

That would be Ed Broadbent’s last election as leader of the NDP.

He resigned as leader of the party at the NDP’s convention in Winnipeg in 1989, and was succeeded by Audrey McLaughlin.

The years after
Ed Broadbent would continue advocating, writing and teaching. Then, when he saw Canadian politics move too far to the right for his liking, he returned to politics, winning the Ottawa riding in the 2004 federal election and staying until 2006 before retiring for good. He wanted to spend time with his wife Lucille who was sick, and later died, of cancer.

Parting thoughts
Up until his last days, Ed Broadbent was the soul and the beating heart of the New Democratic Party. He never stopped fighting to improve the lives of everyday, working Canadians. But he was also pragmatic, encouraging the party to support the minority Liberal government, but not without pushing them to do what the NDP thought was best for Canada. Moreover, he urged them to do what they could so the NDP got the credit for those initiatives.

It is the one lever of power a third party, such as the NDP, has at its disposal.

All this, and more, makes Ed Broadbent an icon of Canadian politics.

The country, and democracy, has suffered a great loss with his passing.