This Labour Day solidarity takes on a renewed importance and our work as progressives acquires a new urgency. Over the summer, white nationalist and racist right-wing mobilizing turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia as the ideology of hate grows increasingly visible across North America. Here in Canada, that same ideology led to the massacre of six men at prayer in a Quebec City mosque at the hands of an Islamophobe.

The Broadbent Institute's new project, Change the Game, takes a critical look at the history of social democracy in Canada, with the intention of learning from the successes and challenges of the past in order to build the best possible path forward. We invite you to join us in rethinking and renewing social democracy by reading other entries in this series.

It’s common for Canadian social democrats to model themselves after the so-called Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. Those societies have achieved a high degree of social solidarity, economic prosperity and personal freedom. They have strong educational outcomes, lower levels of inequality and good health. They have an internationalist outlook. They are happy.

The Broadbent Institute's new project, Change the Game, takes a critical look at the history of social democracy in Canada, with the intention of learning from the successes and challenges of the past in order to build the best possible path forward. We invite you to join us in rethinking and renewing social democracy by reading other entries in this series.

When the Broadbent Institute invited us to join forces with them to write about social democracy from the perspective of critical race theory, we were both struck by the challenge that lay in front of us. 

The surge of what is often called “populism” in many Western democracies, in Europe and the USA, represents a deep threat to democracy. 

The Broadbent Institute's new project, Change the Game, takes a critical look at the history of social democracy in Canada, with the intention of learning from the successes and challenges of the past in order to build the best possible path forward. We invite you to join us in rethinking and renewing social democracy by reading other entries in this series.

The surge of what is often called “populism” in many Western democracies, in Europe and the USA, represents a deep threat to democracy. 

Recent events have triggered an important discussion on the Left’s approach to climate change policy. The Leap Manifesto is one expression of the desire to transition to a carbon neutral economy while creating a more just and “caring” society.

The Broadbent Institute and the University of Saskatchewan recently co-sponsored a conference on the challenges to Canadian democracy to honour the memory of Allan Blakeney, former Premier of Saskatchewan. Blakeney passed away in 2011. 

Canada has an inequality problem. It's deep. It's persistent. And it's time to take action.

This report uses custom Statistics Canada data to take a closer look at the concentration and distribution of wealth in Canada.

This post originally appeared on Rabble.ca.

On September 24th, 2013, Broadbent Institute Chair Ed Broadbent gave the 2nd annual Jack Layton Lecture at Ryerson University. In this speech, Ed Broadbent connects the philosophy and historical successes of social democracy with today's social and political challenges.

Over the past fifty years, social democrats — both in government and out — have achieved great progress. The creation of the middle class, the extension of new rights to previously disadvantaged groups like women and gays and lesbians, and an openness to new movements like environmentalism are some of the many advances that social democracy can claim credit for.

But what now? Are the dreams of social democracy and the cherished social programmes of Canadians still affordable? Broadbent's answer is yes. And he urges a confident reassertion of the social democratic values cherished by Canadians and a political leadership that will take us beyond indifference and cynicism to build a better Canada for us all.

//www.youtube.com/embed/Z9MRw919SMU

The right wing’s regressive anti-union rhetoric and U.S.-style attacks on the labour movement threaten Canada’s prosperity. Union Communities, Healthy Communities debunks the conservative movement’s attacks on labour and makes the case that unions are vital to stable economic growth.

The report builds on the Broadbent Institute’s Equality Project in highlighting how unions have contributed an equalizing effect and helped to create broad-based prosperity. Unions successfully promoted fair wages, decent working conditions, social programs, and public services which benefit all citizens – not just unionized workers.