The first full-length treatment of Ed Broadbent’s ideas and remarkable seven-decade engagement in public life.

Part memoir, part history, part political manifesto, Seeking Social Democracy offers the first full-length treatment of Ed Broadbent’s ideas and remarkable seven-decade engagement in public life. In dialogue with three collaborators from different generations, Broadbent leads readers through a life spent fighting for equality in Parliament and beyond: exploring the formation of his social democratic ideals, his engagement on the international stage, and his relationships with historical figures from Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro to Tommy Douglas, René Lévesque, and Willy Brandt. From the formative minority Parliament of 1972–1974 to the contentious national debate over Canada’s constitution to the free trade election of 1988, the book chronicles the life and thought of one of Canada’s most respected political leaders and public intellectuals from his childhood in 1930s Oshawa to the present day. Broadbent’s analysis also points toward the future, offering lessons to a new generation on how principles can inform action and social democracy can look beyond neoliberalism. The result is an engaging, timely, and sweeping analysis of Canadian politics, philosophy, and the nature of democratic leadership.

Join the Broadbent Institute for a number of book launch events this fall, with the co-authors of Seeking Social Democracy. Register below for the event happening near you.

Ottawa

 Date: Tuesday, October 10
 Time: 7:30 PM EDT
 Location: St John the Evangelist • 154 Somerset Street West

Toronto

 Date: Sunday, October 22nd
 Time: 2:00 PM 
 Location: Beeton Hall, Toronto Reference Library • 789 Yonge Street

Vancouver

 Date: Wednesday, November 1st
 Time: 7:00 PM 
 Location: Allan MacKay Room, Vancouver Central Library • 350 West Georgia St.

Canada has lost an exceptional woman. Monique Bégin was a leader in the cause of gender equality, a leader in bringing universal healthcare to Canada and in general a leader in almost all aspects of concerns about inequality. Beyond these great attributes and the contributions she made to our country with such values, Monique was a joy to be with. She loved life and took immense pleasure in playing jokes on her friends. The Broadbent Institute was honoured to have her as a member of its first board. She remained active on the board for approximately two years. She left behind a legacy of work for social democracy beyond partisan politics. She will be missed by all and in particular by those who had experience working with her.

Ed Broadbent
Founder, Broadbent Institute

Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight for Equality

By: Ed Broadbent PC, Frances Abele CM, Jonathan Sas & Luke Savage

Part memoir, part history, part political manifesto, Seeking Social Democracy offers the first full-length treatment of Ed Broadbent’s ideas and remarkable seven decade engagement in public life. In dialogue with three collaborators from different generations, Broadbent leads readers through a life spent fighting for equality in Parliament and beyond: exploring the formation of his social democratic ideals, his engagement on the international stage, and his relationships with historical figures from Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro to Tommy Douglas, René Lévesque, and Willy Brandt. From the formative minority Parliament of 1972-1974, to the contentious national debate over Canada’s constitution, to the free trade election of 1988, the book chronicles the life and thought of one of Canada’s most respected political leaders and public intellectuals from his childhood in 1930s Oshawa to the present day. Broadbent’s analysis also points toward the future, offering lessons to a new generation on how principles can inform action and social democracy can look beyond neoliberalism. The result is an engaging, timely, and sweeping analysis of Canadian politics, philosophy, and the nature of democratic leadership.

Release Date: October 10, 2023

Read the full 2023 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture

This edition of the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was held on Tuesday, May 23rd at an event in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts. A special thanks to TMU Dean of Arts Pamela Sugiman for hosting this Broadbent Institute event.

Ellen Meiksins Wood was one of the left's foremost theorists on democracy and history, and often promoted the idea that democracy always has to be fought for and secured from below, never benevolently conferred from above. The Institute founded the annual Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize & Lecture to honour Professor Wood’s legacy as an internationally renowned scholar and to bring her work to new generations of Canadians.

The Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is given annually to an academic, labour activist or writer and recognizes outstanding contributions in political theory, social or economic history, human rights, or sociology.

Each year’s recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

From left to right: Clement Nocos (Director of Policy, Broadbent Institute), Ed Broadbent (Chair Emeritus, Broadbent Institute), Armine Yalnizyan (2023 Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize recipient), Pamela Sugiman (Dean of Arts, Toronto Metropolitan University), Jennifer Hassum (Executive Director, Broadbent Institute).

The 2023 Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture was delivered by economist Armine Yalnizyan—a leading voice on Canada’s economic scene.

Her lecture, entitled Progress vs. 2023: A Guide to the Fight Ahead, presented her sweeping vision of what it means to be a progressive in 2023, taking us on a tour of the evolution of progressive ideas, and its constancy. She showed how context has shaped strategy, and lay out the push and the pull of the moment: the challenges facing the progressive agenda and the momentum building for it.