Hello Everyone, 

Like many of you, I’m at home in self-isolation. My house is comfortable and my garden is coming to life through my window so it’s not so bad. All things considered, I’m pretty fortunate. But many others are having a very difficult time.

Aside from the ascendance of newer political parties at the expense of those more established, one of the most significant aspects of Monday’s election in Quebec is what it may mean for electoral reform across the country.

This Article originally appeared in the Globe & Mail.

Through my many decades of involvement in politics and public life, I’ve lived through a number of disappointments and broken promises.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to abandon his commitment to make the 2015 election the last held under the broken first-past-the-post electoral system is one of the most cynical I’ve seen.

Editor's Note: Ed Broadbent was awarded this year's Lifetime Achievement Award at Maclean's Parliamentary of the Year Awards. Here is his acceptance speech, delivered Tuesday night at an awards ceremony in Ottawa.

I want to thank Maclean’s for this award, for which I am deeply appreciative.  

Parliament must seize the day: now is the time to get on with proportional representation — Ed Broadbent

OTTAWA — After many years of study and debate, Broadbent Institute Chair Ed Broadbent on Monday urged members of the special parliamentary committee on electoral reform (ERRE) to work together to seize the historic opportunity to develop a made-in-Canada proportional representation system.

At the age of 18, when I entered Glendon College York University in 1965, I found myself drawn to a 28 year old political philosophy professor who, contrary to most of the staidly dressed professors at Glendon, wore turtle-neck sweaters and was whispered to be a committed socialist and anti-war activist.

Something quite remarkable is happening in Left politics in Canada. And no, we don’t mean the fallout from the NDP convention in Edmonton, though we’ll return to that in a moment.

Below is an excerpt of speech delivered by Ed Broadbent at Progress Summit 2016.

I’m remembering an evening in Spring 1968 (I hope I have the right date), when I was together with Ed Broadbent at an academic meeting in Toronto.