Ed Broadbent died on January 11. The announcement of his death shook more than one in the social democratic ranks, and for good reason. Among all the leaders who have led the New Democratic Party (NDP) since its birth, he was the one who was in charge the longest, from 1975 to 1989. He was also the most important, until Jack Layton surpasses it thanks to the historic result of the federal election of May 2, 2011.
What can we learn from Broadbent’s itinerary on the federal scene, in English Canada and in Quebec? It appears that it turned out to be asymmetrical. The new leader managed to impose himself in Ottawa, allowing great victories in the Western provinces, but he simultaneously faced numerous obstacles and pitfalls in Quebec.
From 1975, Ed Broadbent strengthened his leadership and his ability to rally the New Democratic troops. He consolidated the NDP’s foundations in the labor movement across Canada, drawing from it an impressive activist base. He enjoyed the support of the leaders of the Labor Congress and a multitude of federations and unions in the different provinces.
On the federal scene, Ed Broadbent, however, failed to translate this impulse into convincing results: 17.88% of the votes and 26 seats in 1979; 19.77% and 32 in 1980; 18.81% and 30 in 1984; and finally 20.38% of the votes and 43 seats in 1988. This last result was his best. It was nonetheless heartbreaking since over the previous months, the NDP had been given 30 to 40% of the voting intentions in several polls across Canada, including in Quebec. Ed Broadbent expected the “hottest three-way fight in Canadian political history.”
The only consolation prize is that during all these years, the NDP managed to achieve excellent electoral results in the Western provinces and Ontario, even managing to form the government on certain occasions, in Saskatchewan in 1978, as well as in in Manitoba in 1981 and 1986. Broadbent had something to do with it.
The missed appointment
Ed Broadbent’s inability to raise his party to the rank of dominant party mainly reflects the barrier he erected against the national aspirations of Quebecers. As soon as he took office at the leadership of the NDP, the new leader showed closure towards them. At the July 1977 convention in Winnipeg, he presented his constitutional position, “the positive option for a united Canada.” It recognized Quebec’s right “to make its choice”, but while remaining attached to an indivisible Canada with “a strong federal government”. During this congress, Broadbent did everything possible to prevent the recognition of Quebec’s right to self-determination.
From 1975 to 1982, Ed Broadbent advocated the concentration of powers at the federal level and the imposition of “national standards” in Canada, including in the areas of communications and cable distribution, which obviously made Quebec jump. In January 1978, he applauded the formation of the Canadian Unity Council, then the Pro-Canada Foundation in anticipation of the Quebec referendum on sovereignty. He even subscribed to Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s project aimed at instituting a pan-Canadian law on referendums. In 1982, Ed Broadbent finally supported the Liberal leader in his constitutional coup against Quebec, proclaiming that Canada found itself with “the best charter of rights in the Western Hemisphere.”
Despite everything, from 1984 to 1988, with a new leader, Jean-Paul Harney, the NDP-Québec put pressure on the federal NDP so that it recognized in Quebec a right of veto and the right to certain financial compensation in accordance with the rules. constitutional amendments. It also demanded that Quebec’s right to protect its linguistic majority be stipulated. At its January 1987 convention, the federal wing of the NDP agreed to this request in a context where voting intentions in favor of the party were close to more than 30%. They were going to reach 40% during the summer.
“It is time to say yes to Quebec,” said Broadbent. But as the 1988 federal election approached, the leader of the NDP publicly renounced Bill 101, proclaiming the primacy of the federal law on official languages. This turnaround by Broadbent and the NDP on linguistic matters, combined with their opposition to free trade with the United States, caused a backlash in voting intentions in Quebec. On November 21, the NDP obtained no seats, settling for 13.96% of the vote. A total disappointment. Broadbent’s first meeting with Quebec was clearly a failure.
The appointment canceled
After 1982, Ed Broadbent had another chance to demonstrate his attachment to Quebec, precisely during the round of negotiations on the Meech Lake agreement.
In 1987, at the start of talks on this constitutional project, Ed Broadbent expressed his agreement. However, from March 1989, in concert with the party’s federal council, he gradually expressed his dissent. The NDP suddenly demanded two things: the inclusion of a general clause in the Constitution proclaiming equal rights between men and women as well as recognition of the right to self-government for Aboriginal people. These were astonishing requests, because Ed Broadbent had already presented them in 1982. He had been refused and had surprisingly chosen to bow to Trudeau.
Let us also remember that, from 1983 to 1987, there were four constitutional conferences convened by Ottawa on the question of self-government for Aboriginal people, and that they all ended in complete failure, even though René Lévesque, at name of the Quebec government, had expressed its agreement with the recognition of this autonomy. By blocking the Meech Lake agreement, which was specifically dedicated to Quebec, the NDP was making the Quebec population pay for blocking Ontario and the Western provinces on the indigenous issue. Low maneuver confirmed by Elijah Harper, NDP member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, who passed a motion to reject the agreement.
The NDP’s second meeting with Quebec was therefore canceled by Ed Broadbent, if not sabotaged.
Already faced with disappointing results in the 1988 federal elections and soon shaken by internal dissensions over free trade, the famous Oshawa MP had to abandon the leadership of his party.