New Democratic Party
Encyclopedia
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic
political party
in Canada
. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel
who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton
, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in Manitoba
and Nova Scotia
currently form the governments in those provinces. Provincial parties have previously formed governments in British Columbia
, Ontario
, and Saskatchewan
, and the territorial party formed the government in Yukon
. In the 2011 federal election, the NDP won the second-most seats in the Canadian House of Commons
, gaining the title of Official Opposition
for the first time in Canadian history.
(CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF). The CCF grew from populist
, agrarian
and democratic socialist
roots into a modern social-democratic party. Although the CCF was part of the Christian left
and the Social Gospel
movement, the NDP is secular
and pluralistic. It has broadened to include concerns of the New Left
, and advocates issues such as gay rights, international peace, and environmental
stewardship.
New Democrats today advocate, among other things:
. It has also at times wielded influence during federal minority government
s, such as in the recent 40th Parliament
as well as the preceding 39th
and (particularly) the 38th
Parliaments of 2004-2008. The NDP also enjoyed considerable influence during the earlier minority Liberal
governments of Lester B. Pearson
and Pierre Trudeau
, due to being a large enough group to decide outcomes when the others are split. Provincial New Democratic Parties, technically sections of the federal party, have governed in half the provinces and a territory
. They currently govern the provinces of Manitoba
and Nova Scotia
, form the Official Opposition in British Columbia
and Saskatchewan
, and have sitting members in every provincial legislature except those of Quebec
(where there is no provincial NDP), New Brunswick
(although the New Brunswick NDP had an elected member until 2006) and Prince Edward Island
. They have previously formed governments in the provinces of Ontario
, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and in the Yukon Territory. The NDP also formed the official opposition in Alberta
during the 1980s.
The New Democrats are also active municipally, and have been elected mayors, councillors, and school and service board members — Toronto
mayor David Miller
was a leading example, although he did not renew his membership in 2007. Similarly, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson
began his political career as the NDP MLA
for Vancouver-Fairview
. Most municipal office-holders in Canada are usually elected as independents or with autonomous municipal parties.
(CLC) by a merger of two previous labour congresses, negotiations began between the CLC and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF) to bring about an alliance between organized labour
and the political left
in Canada. In 1958 a joint CCF-CLC committee, the National Committee for the New Party (NCNP), was formed to create a "new" social-democratic political party, with ten members from each group. The NCNP spent the next three years laying down the foundations of the New Party
. During this process, a large number of New Party Clubs were established to allow like-minded Canadians to join in its founding, and six representatives from New Party Clubs were added to the National Committee. In 1961, at the end of a five-day long Founding Convention which established its principles, policies and structures, the New Democratic Party was born and Tommy Douglas
, the long-time CCF Premier of Saskatchewan
, was elected its first leader. In 1960, before the NDP was founded, one candidate, Walter Pitman
, won a by-election
under the New Party banner.
The influence of organized labour on the party is still reflected in the party's conventions as affiliated trade union
s send delegates on a formula based on their number of members. Since approximately one-quarter of the convention delegates have recently been from affiliated labour groups, after the party changed to an Every Member Vote method of electing leaders in leadership races, labour delegate votes are scaled to 25% of the total number of ballots cast for leader.
tried to take control of the party, but were defeated by David Lewis
with the help of trade union members. The following year, most of The Waffle split from the NDP and formed their own party. The NDP itself supported the minority government formed by the Pierre Trudeau
-led Liberals from 1972 to 1974, although the two parties never entered into a coalition
. Together they succeeded in passing several socially progressive initiatives into law such as pension indexing and the creation of the crown corporation Petro-Canada
.
In 1974, the NDP worked with the Progressive Conservatives to pass a motion of non-confidence, forcing an election
. However, it backfired as Trudeau's Liberals regained a majority government, mostly at the expense of the NDP, which lost half its seats. Lewis lost his own riding and resigned as leader the following year.
(1975–1989), the NDP played a critical role during Joe Clark
's minority government of 1979-1980, moving the non-confidence motion
on John Crosbie
's budget that brought down the Progressive Conservative
(PC) government, and forced the election that brought Trudeau's Liberal Party back to power.
In the 1984 election
, which saw the Progressive Conservatives win the most seats in Canadian history, the NDP won 30 seats, only one behind the 31 it won in 1972
. The governing Liberals were decimated, falling to 40 seats in what was at the time the worst defeat of a sitting government at the federal level. The NDP fared far better than expected, considering the PC party had won the biggest majority government in Canadian history. Third parties historically do not do well in landslide election contests. More importantly, they were only 10 seats behind the Liberals — the closest the party and its predecessors had ever got (up to that point) to one of the two major parties, and the best performance for a third party in almost 60 years. This led to some talk that Canada was headed for a UK-style Tory
-versus-Labour
division, with the NDP pushing the Liberals into oblivion. Afterwards, Broadbent himself consistently out-polled Liberal leader John Turner
and even Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
.
On 20 July 1987, the NDP swept three by-elections in Newfoundland, Ontario, and the Yukon, picking up two formerly PC seats and holding one NDP seat. These by-elections brought Audrey McLaughlin
to the House of Commons as the MP for Yukon.
The NDP saw a new record of 43 Members of Parliament
(MPs) elected to the house in the election of 1988
. The Liberals, however, had reaped most of the benefits of opposing free trade to emerge as the dominant alternative to the ruling government. The PCs' barrage of attacks on the Liberals, as well as vote-splitting between the NDP and Liberals, helped them win a second consecutive majority. In 1989, Broadbent stepped down after 14 years as federal leader of the NDP.
and Audrey McLaughlin were the main contenders for the leadership. During the campaign, Barrett argued that the party should be concerned with western alienation
, rather than focusing its attention on Quebec
. The Quebec wing of the NDP strongly opposed Barrett's candidacy, with Phil Edmonston
, the party's main spokesman in Quebec, threatening to resign from the party if Barrett won. Barrett's campaign was also hurt when his back-room negotiations with leadership rival Simon De Jong
were inadvertently recorded by the latter's CBC microphone. In these discussions, De Jong apparently agreed to support Barrett in exchange for being named House Leader, but he changed his mind at the last minute and supported McLaughlin instead, announcing his endorsement of her before the vote. In the course of his discussion with Barrett, De Jong explained "It's a head and heart thing," i.e., that his head told him to go with Dave while his heart told him to go with Audrey. McLaughlin won the leadership on the fourth ballot, becoming the first woman in Canada to lead a political party.
Although enjoying strong support among organized labour and rural voters in the Prairies, McLaughlin tried to expand their support into Quebec without much success. In 1989, the New Democratic Party of Quebec adopted a sovereigntist
platform and severed its ties with the federal NDP. Under McLaughlin, the party did manage to win an election in Quebec for the first time when Edmonston won a 1990 by-election. The party had briefly picked up its first Quebec MP in 1986, when Robert Toupin
crossed the floor
from the Tories after briefly sitting as an independent. However, he left the party in October 1987 after claiming that communist
s had infiltrated the party.
The NDP chose to align itself with the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals on the "yes" side of the Charlottetown Accord
referendum in 1992. Barrett reluctantly endorsed it to comply with party policy (he opposed the Meech Lake Accord
in 1987), but later referred to the NDP's support for the Accord as a mistake. Edmonston, a Quebec nationalist, frequently clashed with his own party over this position on Canadian federalism
, and did not run for re-election.
The NDP was routed in the 1993 election
. It won only nine seats, three seats short of official party status
in the House of Commons. Several factors contributed to this dramatic collapse just one election after winning a record number of seats and after being first in opinion polling at one point during the previous Parliament. One was the massive unpopularity of NDP provincial governments under Bob Rae
in Ontario and Mike Harcourt
in British Columbia. Not coincidentally, the NDP was routed in these provinces; it lost all 10 of its Ontario MPs and 17 of its 19 British Columbia MPs – more than half of its caucus. The Ontario NDP would be soundly defeated in 1995, while the British Columbia NDP recovered and won reelection in 1996.
The NDP was also indirectly hampered by the collapse of the Progressive Conservatives
, who were cut down to only two seats. Exit polls showed that 17% to 27% of NDP supporters from 1988 voted Liberal in 1993. It was obvious by the beginning of October that Liberal leader Jean Chrétien
would be the next Prime Minister. However, the memory of 1988's vote splitting combined with the tremendous antipathy toward the PCs caused NDP supporters to vote Liberal to ensure the Progressive Conservatives would be defeated. Many voters in the NDP's traditional Western heartland also switched to the right-wing Reform Party of Canada
. Despite sharp ideological differences, Reform's populism struck a chord with many western NDP supporters. In Ontario, fear of the Reform Party and anger at Rae helped cause NDP supporters to vote Liberal. Barrett's warnings about Western alienation proved to be prophetic, as the rise of the Reform Party replaced the NDP as the protest voice west of Ontario.
, electing 21 New Democrats in the 1997 election
. The NDP made a breakthrough in Atlantic Canada
, unseating Liberal ministers David Dingwall
and Doug Young. The party was able to harness the discontent of Maritime
voters, who were upset over cuts to employment insurance and other social programs.
Afterwards, McDonough was widely perceived as trying to move the party toward the centre
of the political spectrum, in the Third Way
mould of British Prime Minister
Tony Blair
. Union leaders were lukewarm in their support, often threatening to break away from the NDP, while Canadian Auto Workers
head Buzz Hargrove
called for her resignation. MPs Rick Laliberté
and Angela Vautour
crossed the floor to other parties during this term, to the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives respectively, reducing the NDP caucus to 19 seats.
In the November 2000 election
, the NDP campaigned on the issue of Medicare but lost significant support. The governing Liberals ran an effective campaign on their economic record and managed to recapture some of the Atlantic ridings lost to the NDP in the 1997 election. The initial high electoral prospects of the Canadian Alliance
under new leader Stockwell Day
also hurt the NDP as many supporters strategically voted Liberal to keep the Alliance from winning. The NDP finished with 13 MPs — just barely over the threshold for official party status.
The party embarked on a renewal process starting in 2000. A general convention in Winnipeg
in November 2001 made significant alterations to party structures, and reaffirmed its commitment to the left. In the May 2002 by-elections, Brian Masse
won the riding of Windsor West
in Windsor
, Ontario
, previously held for decades by a Liberal, former Deputy Prime Minister
Herb Gray
.
. A Toronto city councillor and recent President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
, Layton was elected at the party's leadership election
in Toronto on January 5, 2003, defeating his nearest rival, longtime Winnipeg-area MP Bill Blaikie
, on the first ballot with 53.5% of the vote.
Layton had run unsuccessfully for the Commons three times in Toronto-area ridings. In contrast to traditional but diminishing Canadian practice, where an MP for a safe seat stands down to allow a newly elected leader a chance to enter Parliament, Layton did not contest a seat in Parliament until the 2004 election. In the interim, he appointed Blaikie as deputy leader and made him parliamentary leader of the NDP.
The 2004 election
produced mixed results for the NDP. It increased its total vote by more than a million votes; however, despite Layton's optimistic predictions of reaching 40 seats, the NDP only gained five seats in the election, for a total of 19. The party was disappointed to see its two Saskatchewan
incumbents defeated in close races by the new Conservative Party
(created by merger of the Alliance and PC parties), perhaps due to the unpopularity of the NDP provincial government. Those losses caused the federal NDP to be shut out in Saskatchewan for the first time since the 1965 election
, despite obtaining 23% of the vote in the province.
Exit polls indicated that many NDP supporters voted Liberal to keep the new Conservative Party of Canada
from winning. The Liberals had recruited several prominent NDP members, most notably former British Columbia
Premier Ujjal Dosanjh
, to run as Liberals as part of a drive to convince NDP voters that a reunited Conservative Party could sneak up the middle in the event of a split in the centre-left
vote.
The NDP campaign also experienced controversy after Layton suggested the removal of the Clarity Act
, considered by some to be vital to keeping Quebec in Canada and by others as undemocratic, and promised to recognize any declaration of independence by Quebec
after a referendum. Although this position was consistent with NDP policy, some high-profile party members, such as NDP House Leader Bill Blaikie, publicly indicated that they did not share this view. (Layton would later reverse his position and support the Act in 2006.)
The Liberals were re-elected, though this time as a minority government
. Combined, the Liberals and NDP had 154 seats – one short of the total needed for the balance of power. As has been the case with Liberal minority government
s in the past, the NDP were in a position to make gains on the party's priorities, such as fighting health care privatization
, fulfilling Canada's obligation to the Kyoto Protocol
, and electoral reform
.
The party used Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin
's politically precarious position caused by the sponsorship scandal
to force investment in multiple federal programs, agreeing not to help topple the government provided that some major concessions in the federal budget were ceded to. The governing Liberals agreed to support the changes in exchange for NDP support on confidence votes. On 19 May 2005, by Speaker
Peter Milliken
's tie-breaking vote, the House of Commons voted for second reading on major NDP amendments to the federal budget, preempting about $4.5 billion in corporate tax
cuts and funding social, educational and environmental programs instead. Both NDP supporters and Conservative opponents of the measures branded it Canada's first "NDP budget". In late June, the amendments passed final reading and many political pundits concluded that the NDP had gained credibility and clout on the national scene.
On 9 November 2005, after the findings of the Gomery Inquiry were released, Layton notified the Liberal government that continued NDP support would require a ban on private healthcare
. When the Liberals refused, Layton announced that he would introduce a motion on 24 November that would ask Martin to call a federal election in February to allow for several pieces of legislation to be passed. The Liberals turned down this offer. On 28 November 2005, Conservative leader Stephen Harper
's motion of no confidence was seconded by Layton and it was passed by all three opposition parties, forcing an election. Columnist Andrew Coyne
has suggested that the NDP was unlikely to receive much credit for continuing to further prop up the Liberals, so they ended their support for the Martin government.
During the election
, the NDP focused their attacks on the Liberal party, in order to counter Liberal appeals for strategic voting. A key point in the campaign was when Judy Wasylycia-Leis
had asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) to launch a criminal investigation into the leaking of the income trust announcement. The criminal probe seriously damaged the Liberal campaign and prevented them from making their key policy announcements, as well as bringing Liberal corruption back into the spotlight. After the election, the RCMP announced the conclusion of the income trust investigation and laid a charge of 'Breach of Trust' against Serge Nadeau, an official in the Department of Finance, while Liberal
Finance Minister Ralph Goodale
was cleared of wrongdoing.
The NDP campaign strategy put them at odds with Canadian Auto Workers
(CAW), which had supported an NDP-backed Liberal minority government and which was only backing NDP candidates that had a chance of winning. After the campaign, the Ontario NDP
expelled CAW leader Buzz Hargrove from the party (which has a common membership both federally and provincially) for his support of the Liberals.
On 23 January, the NDP won 29 seats, a significant increase of 10 seats from the 19 won in 2004. It was the fourth-best performance in party history, approaching the level of popular support enjoyed in the 1980s. The NDP kept all of the 18 seats it held at the dissolution of Parliament (Paul Dewar
retained the riding of Ottawa Centre
vacated by Broadbent). Bev Desjarlais
, an NDP MP since 1997, unsuccessfully ran as an independent in her Churchill
riding after losing the NDP nomination. While the party gained no seats in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, or the Prairie Provinces, it gained five seats in British Columbia, five more in Ontario and the Western Arctic
riding of the Northwest Territories
.
The Conservative Party
won a minority government in the 2006 election, and initially the NDP was the only party that would not be able to pass legislation with the Conservatives. However, following a series of floor crossings
, the NDP also came to hold the balance of power.
There have been four confidence votes in the 39th parliament, and the NDP is the only party to have voted against the Conservatives on all of them. These were votes on the United States-Canada softwood lumber dispute
, extending the mission to Afghanistan
, the 2006 Canadian federal budget
and 2007 federal budget. On other issues the NDP has worked with the Conservatives. After forcing the Conservatives to agree to certain revisions, the NDP helped pass the Accountability Act
. After the NDP fiercely criticized the initial Conservative attempt at a Clean Air Act
, the Conservatives agreed to work with the NDP and other parties to revise the legislation.
The NDP also supported the government in introducing regulations on income trusts, fearing that trends toward mass trust conversions by large corporations to avoid Canadian income taxes would cause the loss of billions of dollars in budget revenue to support health care, pensions and other federal programs. At the same time, the NDP was also wary of the threat of investor losses from income trusts' exaggerated performance expectations.
Since that election, the NDP caucus rose to 30 members following the victory of NDP candidate Thomas Mulcair
in a by-election in Outremont. This marked the second time ever (and first time in seventeen years) that the NDP won a riding in Quebec. The party won 37 seats in the 2008 federal election
, the best performance since the 1988 federal election total of 43.
for the first time in the party's history.
The party had a historic breakthrough in Quebec
, where they won 59 out of 75 seats. This meant that a majority of the party's MPs now came from a province where they had previously only ever elected two candidates in the party's history (Thomas Mulcair
and Phil Edmonston
, and not concurrently). The NDP's success in Quebec was mirrored by the collapse of the Bloc Québécois
, which lost all but 4 of its 47 seats.
Jack Layton's performance on the French-language talk show Tout le monde en parle
on April 3 was credited for improving his party's standing among francophone voters; it is the most widely-watched TV show in Quebec. He was also perceived to have performed well in the televised French-language party leaders' debate on April 13.
The NDP held or won seats in every province but Saskatchewan
and Prince Edward Island
, and also held the Western Arctic
riding coextensive with the Northwest Territories
. It got more than the 10% threshold required for reimbursement of campaign expenses in all but two ridings in the country, an unprecedented result for it.
In July 2011, Layton announced that he was suffering from a new cancer and would take a leave of absence, initially projected to last until the resumption of Parliament in September. He would retain his position of NDP Leader and Leader of the Opposition. The party confirmed his suggestion of Hull—Aylmer
MP Nycole Turmel
to carry out the functions of party leader in his absence. Layton died
from his cancer on August 22, 2011. In his final letter, Layton called for a leadership election to be held in early 2012
to choose his successor, it has been scheduled for March 24, 2012.
Unlike most other Canadian parties, the NDP is integrated with its provincial and territorial parties. Membership lists are maintained by the provinces and territories. Being a member of a provincial or territorial section of the NDP includes automatic membership in the federal party. This precludes a person from supporting different parties at the federal and provincial levels. A key example of this was Buzz Hargrove
's expulsion by the Ontario New Democratic Party
after he backed Liberal leader Paul Martin
in the 2006 federal election.
There are three exceptions. In Nunavut
and in the Northwest Territories, whose territorial legislatures have non-partisan consensus government
s, the federal NDP is promoted by its riding associations, since each territory is composed of only one federal riding.
In Quebec, the New Democratic Party of Quebec and the federal NDP agreed in 1989 to sever their structural ties after the Quebec party adopted the sovereigntist platform. Since then, the federal NDP is not integrated with a provincial party in that province; instead, it has a section, the Nouveau Parti démocratique-Section Québec/New Democratic Party Quebec Section, whose activities in the province are limited to the federal level, whereas on the provincial level its members are individually free to support or adhere to any party.
(Those current NDP government are in bold)
From 1963 to 1994, there was a New Democratic Party of Quebec.
The most successful provincial section of the party has been the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
, which first came to power in 1944 as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation under Tommy Douglas and has won most of the province's elections since then. In Canada, Tommy Douglas is often cited as the Father of Medicare
since, as Saskatchewan Premier, he introduced Canada's first publicly funded, universal healthcare system to the province. Despite the continued success of the Saskatchewan branch of the party, the NDP was shut out of Saskatchewan in the 2004 federal election
for the first time since the 1965 election, a result which was repeated in 2006
, 2008
and 2011. The New Democratic Party has also formed government in Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and in Yukon.
Only two NDP incumbents who ran for re-election were defeated: Jim Maloway
in Elmwood—Transcona
(MB), and Tony Martin
in Sault Ste. Marie
(ON). Bill Siksay
in Burnaby—Douglas
(BC) chose not to run again, but Kennedy Stewart
retained the seat for the NDP.
For a list of NDP MPs and their critic portfolios, see New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet
.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel
Nycole Turmel
Nycole Turmel, MP is the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Canadian Parliament. She was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, representing the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer, and became interim leader of the New Democratic Party after leader Jack...
who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
currently form the governments in those provinces. Provincial parties have previously formed governments in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, and the territorial party formed the government in Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
. In the 2011 federal election, the NDP won the second-most seats in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
, gaining the title of Official Opposition
Official Opposition (Canada)
In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
for the first time in Canadian history.
Principles and policies
The NDP evolved from a merger of the Canadian Labour CongressCanadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
(CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(CCF). The CCF grew from populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, agrarian
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
and democratic socialist
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
roots into a modern social-democratic party. Although the CCF was part of the Christian left
Christian left
The Christian left is a term originating in the United States, used to describe a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embraces social justice....
and the Social Gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
movement, the NDP is secular
Secularity
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion.For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them...
and pluralistic. It has broadened to include concerns of the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
, and advocates issues such as gay rights, international peace, and environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
stewardship.
New Democrats today advocate, among other things:
- Gender equalityGender equalityGender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
and equal rights for LGBTLGBTLGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
citizens - Improving environmental protectionEnvironmental protectionEnvironmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
through government regulations - National water safetyWater safety planA Water safety plan is a plan to ensure the safety of drinking water through the use of a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer..-Origins:...
standards - Increasing corporate taxes
- Reducing poverty in CanadaPoverty in CanadaPoverty in Canada remains prevalent with some segments of society. The measurement of poverty has been a challenge as there is no official government measure. There is an ongoing debate in Canada about whether a relative measure of poverty, or absolute measure of poverty, is more valid...
- Aggressive human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
protection - Expanding funding for public transportation
- Expanding public health carePublicly-funded health carePublicly funded health care is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most health care needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are set down in rules applying to the whole population...
, including dental and prescription drug coverage - Social assistanceWelfareWelfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
policies that reflects citizens' needs and assist their re-entry to the work force - Abolishing the unelected Senate of Canada and ensuring more proportional representationProportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
- Workers' rightsLabor rightsLabor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
including raising the minimum wageMinimum wageA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
to pace the cost of living - Aboriginal peoples'Aboriginal peoples in CanadaAboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
treaty, land, and constitutional rightConstitutional rightAn inalienable right is a freedom granted by a Nature or the Creator's endowment by birth , and may not be legally denied by that government.-United States:...
s - A foreign policyForeign policyA country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
that emphasizes diplomacyDiplomacyDiplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
, peacekeepingPeacekeepingPeacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
, and humanitarian aidHumanitarian aidHumanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
instead of offensive military action - Renegotiating the North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) - One wing is focused on ending the Canadian War on DrugsWar on DrugsThe War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
and legalizing recreational drugs - Lowering taxes for small businessSmall businessA small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
es
Electoral achievements
The NDP has never formed the federal government, but is the Official Opposition in the current 41st Canadian Parliament41st Canadian Parliament
The 41st Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011...
. It has also at times wielded influence during federal minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
s, such as in the recent 40th Parliament
40th Canadian Parliament
The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011, and was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008...
as well as the preceding 39th
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
and (particularly) the 38th
38th Canadian Parliament
The 38th Canadian Parliament was in session from October 4, 2004 until November 29, 2005. The membership was set by the 2004 federal election on June 28, 2004, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections, but due to the seat distribution, those few changes significantly...
Parliaments of 2004-2008. The NDP also enjoyed considerable influence during the earlier minority Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
governments of Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
and Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
, due to being a large enough group to decide outcomes when the others are split. Provincial New Democratic Parties, technically sections of the federal party, have governed in half the provinces and a territory
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
. They currently govern the provinces of Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, form the Official Opposition in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, and have sitting members in every provincial legislature except those of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
(where there is no provincial NDP), New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
(although the New Brunswick NDP had an elected member until 2006) and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
. They have previously formed governments in the provinces of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and in the Yukon Territory. The NDP also formed the official opposition in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
during the 1980s.
The New Democrats are also active municipally, and have been elected mayors, councillors, and school and service board members — Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
mayor David Miller
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...
was a leading example, although he did not renew his membership in 2007. Similarly, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson
Gregor Robertson (politician)
Gregor Angus Bethune Robertson is a Canadian politician who has been the 39th Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, since 2008. He was elected as part of the Vision Vancouver party slate...
began his political career as the NDP MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
for Vancouver-Fairview
Vancouver-Fairview
Vancouver-Fairview is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.- Demographics :-MLAs:#Gary Farrell-Collins, Liberal #Gregor Robertson, NDP #Jenn McGinn, NDP...
. Most municipal office-holders in Canada are usually elected as independents or with autonomous municipal parties.
History
Origins and early history
In 1956, after the birth of the Canadian Labour CongressCanadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
(CLC) by a merger of two previous labour congresses, negotiations began between the CLC and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(CCF) to bring about an alliance between organized labour
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
and the political left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
in Canada. In 1958 a joint CCF-CLC committee, the National Committee for the New Party (NCNP), was formed to create a "new" social-democratic political party, with ten members from each group. The NCNP spent the next three years laying down the foundations of the New Party
New Party (Canada)
New Party was the interim name used by the new political party being established in Canada from 1958 to 1961 by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress , which eventually defined itself as a social democratic party...
. During this process, a large number of New Party Clubs were established to allow like-minded Canadians to join in its founding, and six representatives from New Party Clubs were added to the National Committee. In 1961, at the end of a five-day long Founding Convention which established its principles, policies and structures, the New Democratic Party was born and Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
, the long-time CCF Premier of Saskatchewan
Premier of Saskatchewan
The Premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....
, was elected its first leader. In 1960, before the NDP was founded, one candidate, Walter Pitman
Walter Pitman
Walter George Pitman, OC, O.Ont is an educator and former politician in Ontario, Canada.Born in Toronto, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and a Master of Arts in 1954 from the University of Toronto....
, won a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
under the New Party banner.
The influence of organized labour on the party is still reflected in the party's conventions as affiliated trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s send delegates on a formula based on their number of members. Since approximately one-quarter of the convention delegates have recently been from affiliated labour groups, after the party changed to an Every Member Vote method of electing leaders in leadership races, labour delegate votes are scaled to 25% of the total number of ballots cast for leader.
Trudeau minority
At the 1971 leadership convention, an activist group called The WaffleThe Waffle
The Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...
tried to take control of the party, but were defeated by David Lewis
David Lewis (politician)
David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961...
with the help of trade union members. The following year, most of The Waffle split from the NDP and formed their own party. The NDP itself supported the minority government formed by the Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
-led Liberals from 1972 to 1974, although the two parties never entered into a coalition
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
. Together they succeeded in passing several socially progressive initiatives into law such as pension indexing and the creation of the crown corporation Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...
.
In 1974, the NDP worked with the Progressive Conservatives to pass a motion of non-confidence, forcing an election
Canadian federal election, 1974
The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...
. However, it backfired as Trudeau's Liberals regained a majority government, mostly at the expense of the NDP, which lost half its seats. Lewis lost his own riding and resigned as leader the following year.
Rising popularity
Under the leadership of Ed BroadbentEd Broadbent
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life...
(1975–1989), the NDP played a critical role during Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
's minority government of 1979-1980, moving the non-confidence motion
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
on John Crosbie
John Crosbie
John Carnell Crosbie, PC, OC, ONL, QC is a retired provincial and federal politician and the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
's budget that brought down the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
(PC) government, and forced the election that brought Trudeau's Liberal Party back to power.
In the 1984 election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
, which saw the Progressive Conservatives win the most seats in Canadian history, the NDP won 30 seats, only one behind the 31 it won in 1972
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
. The governing Liberals were decimated, falling to 40 seats in what was at the time the worst defeat of a sitting government at the federal level. The NDP fared far better than expected, considering the PC party had won the biggest majority government in Canadian history. Third parties historically do not do well in landslide election contests. More importantly, they were only 10 seats behind the Liberals — the closest the party and its predecessors had ever got (up to that point) to one of the two major parties, and the best performance for a third party in almost 60 years. This led to some talk that Canada was headed for a UK-style Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
-versus-Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
division, with the NDP pushing the Liberals into oblivion. Afterwards, Broadbent himself consistently out-polled Liberal leader John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
and even Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
.
On 20 July 1987, the NDP swept three by-elections in Newfoundland, Ontario, and the Yukon, picking up two formerly PC seats and holding one NDP seat. These by-elections brought Audrey McLaughlin
Audrey McLaughlin
Audrey McLaughlin, PC, OC was leader of Canada's New Democratic Party from 1989 to 1995. She was the first female leader of a political party with representation in the Canadian House of Commons, as well as the first federal political party leader to represent an electoral district in a Canadian...
to the House of Commons as the MP for Yukon.
The NDP saw a new record of 43 Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) elected to the house in the election of 1988
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
. The Liberals, however, had reaped most of the benefits of opposing free trade to emerge as the dominant alternative to the ruling government. The PCs' barrage of attacks on the Liberals, as well as vote-splitting between the NDP and Liberals, helped them win a second consecutive majority. In 1989, Broadbent stepped down after 14 years as federal leader of the NDP.
Decline
At the party's leadership convention, former B.C. Premier Dave BarrettDave Barrett
David Barrett, OC , commonly known as Dave Barrett, is a retired politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada...
and Audrey McLaughlin were the main contenders for the leadership. During the campaign, Barrett argued that the party should be concerned with western alienation
Western Alienation
In Canadian politics, Western alienation is a concept that the Western provinces - British Columbia , Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba - have been alienated, and in extreme cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in favour of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec...
, rather than focusing its attention on Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. The Quebec wing of the NDP strongly opposed Barrett's candidacy, with Phil Edmonston
Phil Edmonston
Louis-Phillip Edmonston is a Canadian consumer advocate, writer and former politician. He is one of the few politicians with dual American/Canadian citizenship to be elected to Canadian Parliament....
, the party's main spokesman in Quebec, threatening to resign from the party if Barrett won. Barrett's campaign was also hurt when his back-room negotiations with leadership rival Simon De Jong
Simon De Jong
Simon Leendert De Jong was a Canadian parliamentarian. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1979 federal election as an New Democratic Party Member of Parliament from Saskatchewan...
were inadvertently recorded by the latter's CBC microphone. In these discussions, De Jong apparently agreed to support Barrett in exchange for being named House Leader, but he changed his mind at the last minute and supported McLaughlin instead, announcing his endorsement of her before the vote. In the course of his discussion with Barrett, De Jong explained "It's a head and heart thing," i.e., that his head told him to go with Dave while his heart told him to go with Audrey. McLaughlin won the leadership on the fourth ballot, becoming the first woman in Canada to lead a political party.
Although enjoying strong support among organized labour and rural voters in the Prairies, McLaughlin tried to expand their support into Quebec without much success. In 1989, the New Democratic Party of Quebec adopted a sovereigntist
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement refers to both the political movement and the ideology of values, concepts and ideas that promote the secession of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada...
platform and severed its ties with the federal NDP. Under McLaughlin, the party did manage to win an election in Quebec for the first time when Edmonston won a 1990 by-election. The party had briefly picked up its first Quebec MP in 1986, when Robert Toupin
Robert Toupin
Robert Toupin, LL.B , LL.M is a former Canadian Member of Parliament.Toupin had been a worker for the Quebec Liberal Party when he joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada following Brian Mulroney's election as party leader...
crossed the floor
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
from the Tories after briefly sitting as an independent. However, he left the party in October 1987 after claiming that communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
s had infiltrated the party.
The NDP chose to align itself with the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals on the "yes" side of the Charlottetown Accord
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October 26 of that year, and was defeated.-Background:...
referendum in 1992. Barrett reluctantly endorsed it to comply with party policy (he opposed the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
in 1987), but later referred to the NDP's support for the Accord as a mistake. Edmonston, a Quebec nationalist, frequently clashed with his own party over this position on Canadian federalism
Canadian federalism
Canada is a federation with two distinct jurisdictions of political authority: the country-wide federal government and the ten regionally-based provincial governments. It also has three territorial governments in the far north, though these are subject to the federal government...
, and did not run for re-election.
The NDP was routed in the 1993 election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
. It won only nine seats, three seats short of official party status
Official party status
Official party status refers to the Canadian practice of recognizing political parties in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. The type of recognition and threshold needed to obtain it varies...
in the House of Commons. Several factors contributed to this dramatic collapse just one election after winning a record number of seats and after being first in opinion polling at one point during the previous Parliament. One was the massive unpopularity of NDP provincial governments under Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
in Ontario and Mike Harcourt
Mike Harcourt
Michael Franklin Harcourt served as the 30th Premier of the province of British Columbia in Canada from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of BC's major city, Vancouver from 1980 to 1986....
in British Columbia. Not coincidentally, the NDP was routed in these provinces; it lost all 10 of its Ontario MPs and 17 of its 19 British Columbia MPs – more than half of its caucus. The Ontario NDP would be soundly defeated in 1995, while the British Columbia NDP recovered and won reelection in 1996.
The NDP was also indirectly hampered by the collapse of the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
, who were cut down to only two seats. Exit polls showed that 17% to 27% of NDP supporters from 1988 voted Liberal in 1993. It was obvious by the beginning of October that Liberal leader Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
would be the next Prime Minister. However, the memory of 1988's vote splitting combined with the tremendous antipathy toward the PCs caused NDP supporters to vote Liberal to ensure the Progressive Conservatives would be defeated. Many voters in the NDP's traditional Western heartland also switched to the right-wing Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
. Despite sharp ideological differences, Reform's populism struck a chord with many western NDP supporters. In Ontario, fear of the Reform Party and anger at Rae helped cause NDP supporters to vote Liberal. Barrett's warnings about Western alienation proved to be prophetic, as the rise of the Reform Party replaced the NDP as the protest voice west of Ontario.
Recovery
The party recovered somewhat under new leader Alexa McDonoughAlexa McDonough
Alexa Ann Shaw McDonough OC is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's leader in 1980...
, electing 21 New Democrats in the 1997 election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
. The NDP made a breakthrough in Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
, unseating Liberal ministers David Dingwall
David Dingwall
David Charles Dingwall, PC is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and civil servant.A lawyer by training, Dingwall was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1980 Canadian federal election as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Cape Breton—East Richmond in Nova Scotia...
and Doug Young. The party was able to harness the discontent of Maritime
Maritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
voters, who were upset over cuts to employment insurance and other social programs.
Afterwards, McDonough was widely perceived as trying to move the party toward the centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
of the political spectrum, in the Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
mould of British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. Union leaders were lukewarm in their support, often threatening to break away from the NDP, while Canadian Auto Workers
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
head Buzz Hargrove
Buzz Hargrove
Basil Eldon "Buzz" Hargrove, OC is the former National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union...
called for her resignation. MPs Rick Laliberté
Rick Laliberte
Rick Laliberte is a former Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Churchill River, a riding that encompasses the northern half of the province of Saskatchewan....
and Angela Vautour
Angela Vautour
Angela Vautour is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Beauséjour—Petitcodiac in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2000....
crossed the floor to other parties during this term, to the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives respectively, reducing the NDP caucus to 19 seats.
In the November 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, the NDP campaigned on the issue of Medicare but lost significant support. The governing Liberals ran an effective campaign on their economic record and managed to recapture some of the Atlantic ridings lost to the NDP in the 1997 election. The initial high electoral prospects of the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
under new leader Stockwell Day
Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day, Jr., PC, MP is a former Canadian politician, and a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is a former cabinet minister in Alberta, and a former leader of the Canadian Alliance. Day was MP for the riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla in British Columbia and the president of...
also hurt the NDP as many supporters strategically voted Liberal to keep the Alliance from winning. The NDP finished with 13 MPs — just barely over the threshold for official party status.
The party embarked on a renewal process starting in 2000. A general convention in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
in November 2001 made significant alterations to party structures, and reaffirmed its commitment to the left. In the May 2002 by-elections, Brian Masse
Brian Masse
Brian S. Masse is a Canadian politician. He has served in the Canadian House of Commons since 2002, representing the riding of Windsor West as a member of the New Democratic Party....
won the riding of Windsor West
Windsor West
Windsor West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west and south of a line drawn from the U.S...
in Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, previously held for decades by a Liberal, former Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
The Deputy Prime Minister of Canada is an honorary position in the cabinet, conferred at the discretion of the prime minister. There is currently, , no deputy prime minister....
Herb Gray
Herb Gray
Herbert Eser Gray, is a retired Canadian politician. He was Canada's first Jewish federal cabinet minister, and is one of only a few Canadians ever granted the title The Right Honourable who was not so entitled by virtue of a position held.-Early life:Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Harry...
.
Jack Layton elected leader
McDonough announced her resignation as party leader for family reasons in June 2002, and was succeeded by Jack LaytonJack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
. A Toronto city councillor and recent President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...
, Layton was elected at the party's leadership election
New Democratic Party leadership election, 2003
The New Democratic Party leadership election of 2003 was held to replace New Democratic Party of Canada leader Alexa McDonough, after her retirement...
in Toronto on January 5, 2003, defeating his nearest rival, longtime Winnipeg-area MP Bill Blaikie
Bill Blaikie
William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since April 2009, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader...
, on the first ballot with 53.5% of the vote.
Layton had run unsuccessfully for the Commons three times in Toronto-area ridings. In contrast to traditional but diminishing Canadian practice, where an MP for a safe seat stands down to allow a newly elected leader a chance to enter Parliament, Layton did not contest a seat in Parliament until the 2004 election. In the interim, he appointed Blaikie as deputy leader and made him parliamentary leader of the NDP.
2004 election
The 2004 election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
produced mixed results for the NDP. It increased its total vote by more than a million votes; however, despite Layton's optimistic predictions of reaching 40 seats, the NDP only gained five seats in the election, for a total of 19. The party was disappointed to see its two Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
incumbents defeated in close races by the new Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
(created by merger of the Alliance and PC parties), perhaps due to the unpopularity of the NDP provincial government. Those losses caused the federal NDP to be shut out in Saskatchewan for the first time since the 1965 election
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
, despite obtaining 23% of the vote in the province.
Exit polls indicated that many NDP supporters voted Liberal to keep the new Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
from winning. The Liberals had recruited several prominent NDP members, most notably former British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Premier Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dosanjh
Ujjal Dev Singh Dosanjh, PC, QC, is a Sikh Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as 33rd Premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 including a stint as Minister of Health from 2004 until 2006 when the party lost...
, to run as Liberals as part of a drive to convince NDP voters that a reunited Conservative Party could sneak up the middle in the event of a split in the centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
vote.
The NDP campaign also experienced controversy after Layton suggested the removal of the Clarity Act
Clarity Act
The Clarity Act is legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada that established the conditions under which the Government of Canada would enter into negotiations that might lead to secession following such a vote by one of the provinces. The Clarity Bill was tabled for first reading in the...
, considered by some to be vital to keeping Quebec in Canada and by others as undemocratic, and promised to recognize any declaration of independence by Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
after a referendum. Although this position was consistent with NDP policy, some high-profile party members, such as NDP House Leader Bill Blaikie, publicly indicated that they did not share this view. (Layton would later reverse his position and support the Act in 2006.)
The Liberals were re-elected, though this time as a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. Combined, the Liberals and NDP had 154 seats – one short of the total needed for the balance of power. As has been the case with Liberal minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
s in the past, the NDP were in a position to make gains on the party's priorities, such as fighting health care privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
, fulfilling Canada's obligation to the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
, and electoral reform
Electoral reform
Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:...
.
The party used Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's politically precarious position caused by the sponsorship scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
to force investment in multiple federal programs, agreeing not to help topple the government provided that some major concessions in the federal budget were ceded to. The governing Liberals agreed to support the changes in exchange for NDP support on confidence votes. On 19 May 2005, by Speaker
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
Peter Milliken
Peter Milliken
Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, UE is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until his retirement in 2011 and served as Speaker of the House for 10 years beginning in 2001. Milliken represented the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands as a...
's tie-breaking vote, the House of Commons voted for second reading on major NDP amendments to the federal budget, preempting about $4.5 billion in corporate tax
Corporate tax
Many countries impose corporate tax or company tax on the income or capital of some types of legal entities. A similar tax may be imposed at state or lower levels. The taxes may also be referred to as income tax or capital tax. Entities treated as partnerships are generally not taxed at the...
cuts and funding social, educational and environmental programs instead. Both NDP supporters and Conservative opponents of the measures branded it Canada's first "NDP budget". In late June, the amendments passed final reading and many political pundits concluded that the NDP had gained credibility and clout on the national scene.
2006 election
On 9 November 2005, after the findings of the Gomery Inquiry were released, Layton notified the Liberal government that continued NDP support would require a ban on private healthcare
Private healthcare
Private healthcare or private medicine is healthcare and medicine provided by entities other than the government. The term is generally used more in Europe and other countries which have publicly-funded health care, to differentiate the arrangement from the usual system.Ethical issues relating to...
. When the Liberals refused, Layton announced that he would introduce a motion on 24 November that would ask Martin to call a federal election in February to allow for several pieces of legislation to be passed. The Liberals turned down this offer. On 28 November 2005, Conservative leader Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
's motion of no confidence was seconded by Layton and it was passed by all three opposition parties, forcing an election. Columnist Andrew Coyne
Andrew Coyne
James Andrew Coyne is the national editor for Maclean's, a weekly national newsmagazine in Canada. Previously, he was a columnist with the National Post and an editor-in-chief of the University of Manitoba's newspaper, The Manitoban.-Background:Coyne was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Hope...
has suggested that the NDP was unlikely to receive much credit for continuing to further prop up the Liberals, so they ended their support for the Martin government.
During the election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, the NDP focused their attacks on the Liberal party, in order to counter Liberal appeals for strategic voting. A key point in the campaign was when Judy Wasylycia-Leis
Judy Wasylycia-Leis
Klazina Judith "Judy" Wasylycia-Leis is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from September 22, 1997 to April 30, 2010...
had asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) to launch a criminal investigation into the leaking of the income trust announcement. The criminal probe seriously damaged the Liberal campaign and prevented them from making their key policy announcements, as well as bringing Liberal corruption back into the spotlight. After the election, the RCMP announced the conclusion of the income trust investigation and laid a charge of 'Breach of Trust' against Serge Nadeau, an official in the Department of Finance, while Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Finance Minister Ralph Goodale
Ralph Goodale
Ralph Edward Goodale, PC, MP was Canada's Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and continues to be a Liberal Member of Parliament...
was cleared of wrongdoing.
The NDP campaign strategy put them at odds with Canadian Auto Workers
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers is one of Canada's largest and highest profile social unions. While rooted in Ontario's large auto plants of Windsor, Brampton, Oakville, St...
(CAW), which had supported an NDP-backed Liberal minority government and which was only backing NDP candidates that had a chance of winning. After the campaign, the Ontario NDP
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
expelled CAW leader Buzz Hargrove from the party (which has a common membership both federally and provincially) for his support of the Liberals.
On 23 January, the NDP won 29 seats, a significant increase of 10 seats from the 19 won in 2004. It was the fourth-best performance in party history, approaching the level of popular support enjoyed in the 1980s. The NDP kept all of the 18 seats it held at the dissolution of Parliament (Paul Dewar
Paul Dewar
Paul W. Dewar is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa Centre.Dewar is a member of the New Democratic Party and was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election...
retained the riding of Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
vacated by Broadbent). Bev Desjarlais
Bev Desjarlais
Bev Desjarlais is a retired Canadian politician. She represented Churchill in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2006, initially as a New Democrat and later as an Independent after losing her party nomination in late 2005...
, an NDP MP since 1997, unsuccessfully ran as an independent in her Churchill
Churchill (electoral district)
Churchill is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It covers northern Manitoba, a vast wilderness area dotted with small municipalities and First Nations reserves...
riding after losing the NDP nomination. While the party gained no seats in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, or the Prairie Provinces, it gained five seats in British Columbia, five more in Ontario and the Western Arctic
Western Arctic
Western Arctic is a federal electoral district and senate division in Northwest Territories, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979....
riding of the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
.
Conservative minority
The Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
won a minority government in the 2006 election, and initially the NDP was the only party that would not be able to pass legislation with the Conservatives. However, following a series of floor crossings
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
, the NDP also came to hold the balance of power.
There have been four confidence votes in the 39th parliament, and the NDP is the only party to have voted against the Conservatives on all of them. These were votes on the United States-Canada softwood lumber dispute
United States-Canada softwood lumber dispute
The Canada–United States softwood lumber dispute is one of the most significant and enduring trade disputes in modern history. The dispute has had its biggest effect on British Columbia, the major Canadian exporter of softwood lumber to the United States....
, extending the mission to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, the 2006 Canadian federal budget
2006 Canadian federal budget
The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 2006-2007 was presented to the Canadian House of Commons by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on May 2, 2006...
and 2007 federal budget. On other issues the NDP has worked with the Conservatives. After forcing the Conservatives to agree to certain revisions, the NDP helped pass the Accountability Act
Federal Accountability Act
The Federal Accountability Act is a statute introduced as Bill C-2 in the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament on April 11, 2006, by the President of the Treasury Board, John Baird...
. After the NDP fiercely criticized the initial Conservative attempt at a Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
, the Conservatives agreed to work with the NDP and other parties to revise the legislation.
Since that election, the NDP caucus rose to 30 members following the victory of NDP candidate Thomas Mulcair
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
in a by-election in Outremont. This marked the second time ever (and first time in seventeen years) that the NDP won a riding in Quebec. The party won 37 seats in the 2008 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, the best performance since the 1988 federal election total of 43.
Official Opposition, death of Jack Layton
In the 2011 federal election the NDP won a record 103 seats, becoming the Official OppositionOfficial Opposition (Canada)
In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
for the first time in the party's history.
The party had a historic breakthrough in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where they won 59 out of 75 seats. This meant that a majority of the party's MPs now came from a province where they had previously only ever elected two candidates in the party's history (Thomas Mulcair
Thomas Mulcair
Thomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
and Phil Edmonston
Phil Edmonston
Louis-Phillip Edmonston is a Canadian consumer advocate, writer and former politician. He is one of the few politicians with dual American/Canadian citizenship to be elected to Canadian Parliament....
, and not concurrently). The NDP's success in Quebec was mirrored by the collapse of the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
, which lost all but 4 of its 47 seats.
Jack Layton's performance on the French-language talk show Tout le monde en parle
Tout le monde en parle (Quebec)
Tout le monde en parle is a Quebec talk show hosted and co-produced by Guy A. Lepage, broadcast on Radio-Canada since 2004. It has been adapted from the French show of the same name, created and hosted by Thierry Ardisson.- Concept :...
on April 3 was credited for improving his party's standing among francophone voters; it is the most widely-watched TV show in Quebec. He was also perceived to have performed well in the televised French-language party leaders' debate on April 13.
The NDP held or won seats in every province but Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, and also held the Western Arctic
Western Arctic
Western Arctic is a federal electoral district and senate division in Northwest Territories, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979....
riding coextensive with the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. It got more than the 10% threshold required for reimbursement of campaign expenses in all but two ridings in the country, an unprecedented result for it.
In July 2011, Layton announced that he was suffering from a new cancer and would take a leave of absence, initially projected to last until the resumption of Parliament in September. He would retain his position of NDP Leader and Leader of the Opposition. The party confirmed his suggestion of Hull—Aylmer
Hull—Aylmer
Hull—Aylmer is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1917....
MP Nycole Turmel
Nycole Turmel
Nycole Turmel, MP is the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Canadian Parliament. She was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, representing the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer, and became interim leader of the New Democratic Party after leader Jack...
to carry out the functions of party leader in his absence. Layton died
Death and state funeral of Jack Layton
On August 22, 2011, Canadian New Democratic Party leader and Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton died after a bout from an unspecified, newly diagnosed cancer. Prior to his recent diagnosis, Layton led his party to gain a historic rise in seats during the 2011 federal election...
from his cancer on August 22, 2011. In his final letter, Layton called for a leadership election to be held in early 2012
New Democratic Party leadership election, 2012
An election for the leadership of the New Democratic Party , a social democratic party in Canada, will occur on March 24, 2012, as a result of the death of Jack Layton, the party's former leader. The party's executive and caucus set the rules for the campaign at a series of meetings in September 2011...
to choose his successor, it has been scheduled for March 24, 2012.
Provincial and territorial wings
Buzz Hargrove
Basil Eldon "Buzz" Hargrove, OC is the former National President of the Canadian Auto Workers trade union...
's expulsion by the Ontario New Democratic Party
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
after he backed Liberal leader Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
in the 2006 federal election.
There are three exceptions. In Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
and in the Northwest Territories, whose territorial legislatures have non-partisan consensus government
Consensus government
Consensus government is a form of consensus democracy government in Canada in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, as well as Nunatsiavut, an autonomous area in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador....
s, the federal NDP is promoted by its riding associations, since each territory is composed of only one federal riding.
In Quebec, the New Democratic Party of Quebec and the federal NDP agreed in 1989 to sever their structural ties after the Quebec party adopted the sovereigntist platform. Since then, the federal NDP is not integrated with a provincial party in that province; instead, it has a section, the Nouveau Parti démocratique-Section Québec/New Democratic Party Quebec Section, whose activities in the province are limited to the federal level, whereas on the provincial level its members are individually free to support or adhere to any party.
| Party | Seats/Total | Leader |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta New Democratic Party Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
2/83 | Brian Mason Brian Mason Brian Mason is a Canadian politician and leader of the Alberta New Democrats . Mason was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood in a 2001 byelection, and his career in politics spans more than 20 years.Mason first became politically active... , MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction.... |
| British Columbia New Democratic Party | 35/85 | Adrian Dix Adrian Dix Adrian Dix is a Canadian politician, currently serving as MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia and as leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election.-Aide to Glen Clark:... , MLA, Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Opposition (British Columbia) The Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia is the MLA in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia who leads the political party recognized as the Official Opposition. This status generally goes to the leader of the second largest party in the Legislative Assembly.... |
| New Democratic Party of Manitoba New Democratic Party of Manitoba The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
37/57 | Hon. Greg Selinger, MLA, Premier of Manitoba Premier of Manitoba The Premier of Manitoba is the first minister for the Canadian province of Manitoba. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. Until the early 1970s, the title "Prime Minister of Manitoba" was used frequently. Afterwards, the word Premier, derived from the French... |
| New Brunswick New Democratic Party New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party .-Origins and early history:... |
0/55 | Dominic Cardy Dominic Cardy Dominic Cardy is a Canadian politician. He was selected as the leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party in the party's leadership election process on March 2, 2011. A resident of Fredericton, Cardy was the party's campaign director in the 2010 provincial election.Cardy was acclaimed party... |
| New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the successor to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Newfoundland Democratic Party... |
5/48 | Lorraine Michael Lorraine Michael Lorraine Michael, MHA is a social democratic Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Since 2006 Michael has been the leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party . She is a former nun, teacher, and social activist... , MHA |
| Nova Scotia New Democratic Party Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is aligned with the federal New Democratic Party . Originally founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in 1932, it became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It became the governing... |
32/52 | Hon. Darrell Dexter Darrell Dexter Darrell Dexter is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who is serving as the 27th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. A member of the New Democratic Party, he has led the Nova Scotia NDP since 2001. He was elected Premier in 2009 after defeating... , MLA, Premier of Nova Scotia Premier of Nova Scotia The Premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister for the Canadian province of Nova Scotia who presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of the political party which has the most seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly... |
| Ontario New Democratic Party Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its... |
17/107 | Andrea Horwath Andrea Horwath Andrea Horwath , is a Canadian activist and politician. She is the Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party in Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Hamilton Centre, and was chosen as the party's leader at its 2009 leadership convention.She is... , MPP |
| New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island | 0/27 | James Rodd James Rodd James Rodd has been leader of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island since November 2007 when he was selected as interim leader at the party's Annual General Meeting following the resignation of Dean Constable... |
| Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Saskatchewan New Democratic Party The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It currently forms the official opposition, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s... |
9/58 | Dwain Lingenfelter Dwain Lingenfelter Dwain Lingenfelter is a businessman, farmer, politician and former Leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. Lingenfelter won the leadership of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party on June 6, 2009... , defeated for re-election and resigned as party leader. |
| Yukon New Democratic Party Yukon New Democratic Party The Yukon New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Yukon territory of Canada.The Yukon NDP first formed the government of the territory under the leadership of Tony Penikett from 1985 to 1992, and under the leadership of Piers McDonald from 1996 to 2000. The party's... |
6/19 | Elizabeth Hanson Elizabeth Hanson Elizabeth Hanson is a territorial politician from the Yukon, Canada. She is the leader of the Yukon New Democratic Party and has held the position since September 26, 2009. On December 13, 2010 she was elected MLA for Whitehorse Centre.-Early life:... , MLA, Leader of the Opposition |
(Those current NDP government are in bold)
From 1963 to 1994, there was a New Democratic Party of Quebec.
| Province/Territory | Seats - Status | Election years and party leaders at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta Alberta Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces... |
16 - Official Opposition | 1986 Alberta general election, 1986 The Alberta general election of 1986 was the twenty-first general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 8, 1986 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... , 1989 Alberta general election, 1989 The Alberta general election of 1989 was the twenty-second general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 20, 1989 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... , Ray Martin Ray Martin (politician) Raymond Martin is a politician in Alberta, Canada and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Born in 1941 in Delia, Alberta, Martin attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity... |
| British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858... |
51 - Government | 1991 British Columbia general election, 1991 The British Columbia general election of 1991 was the 35th provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on September 19, 1991, and held on October 17, 1991... , Michael Harcourt Michael Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt served as the 30th Premier of the province of British Columbia in Canada from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of BC's major city, Vancouver from 1980 to 1986.... (Premier 1991-1996) |
| Manitoba Manitoba Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other... |
37 - Government | 2011 Manitoba general election, 2011 The 40th general election of Manitoba was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. It took place on October 4, 2011, due to the new fixed-date election laws... , Greg Selinger (Premier since 2009) |
| New Brunswick New Brunswick New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area... |
2 | New Brunswick 1984 by-election, George Little George Little (New Brunswick politician) George Little is a retired high school English teacher and former leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party .Little and his family immigrated to Canada in 1964, settling in Saint John, New Brunswick. Originally from Scotland, he had been teaching in South Yemen before arriving in Canada... |
| Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400... |
5 | 2011 Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011 The 48th Newfoundland and Labrador general election occurred on October 11, 2011, to elect members of the 47th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the 19th election for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada... , Lorraine Michael Lorraine Michael Lorraine Michael, MHA is a social democratic Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Since 2006 Michael has been the leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party . She is a former nun, teacher, and social activist... |
| Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the... |
31 - Government | 2009, Darrell Dexter Darrell Dexter Darrell Dexter is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who is serving as the 27th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. A member of the New Democratic Party, he has led the Nova Scotia NDP since 2001. He was elected Premier in 2009 after defeating... |
| Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
74 - Government | 1990 Ontario general election, 1990 The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada.... , Bob Rae Bob Rae Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.... (Premier from 1990-1995) |
| Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population... |
1 | 1996 Prince Edward Island general election, 1996 thumb|Map of PEI's ridings showing winning parties and their popular vote.The Canadian province of Prince Edward Island conducted a general election on November 18, 1996 to elect the 27 members of the Island legislature... , Herb Dickieson Herb Dickieson Herb Dickieson is a physician and a former educator and politician in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Dickieson is notably the first and currently the only member of the New Democratic Party, or any third party, to have sat in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.Dickieson was raised in... |
| Quebec Quebec Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.... |
1 | 1944 Quebec general election, 1944 The Quebec general election of 1944 was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale, led by former premier Maurice Duplessis, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Adélard Godbout... , (CCF, David Côté David Côté David Côté was a Canadian politician active in the provincial politics of Quebec. Côté was the only member of the Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif ever elected to the Quebec legislature.Côté was a trade union organizer for the Congress of Industrial Organizations working... ) |
| Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota.... |
55 - Government | 1991 Saskatchewan general election, 1991 The Saskatchewan general election of 1991 was the twenty-second provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on October 21, 1991, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.... , Roy Romanow Roy Romanow Roy John Romanow, PC, OC, QC, SOM is a Canadian politician and the 12th Premier of Saskatchewan .... (Premier from 1991-2001) |
| Yukon Yukon Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in.... |
11 - Government | 1996 Yukon general election, 1996 The 1996 Yukon general election was held on September 30, 1996 to elect the seventeen members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly in Yukon Territory, Canada. The governing Yukon Party, a conservative party, was defeated by the social democratic Yukon New Democratic Party . The NDP formed the... , Piers McDonald Piers McDonald Piers McDonald, OC is a Yukon politician and trade unionist.Born in Kingston, Ontario, McDonald, a miner by profession, was vice-president of the Yukon Federation of Labour from 1981-1982... (Premier 1996-2000) |
The most successful provincial section of the party has been the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It currently forms the official opposition, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s...
, which first came to power in 1944 as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation under Tommy Douglas and has won most of the province's elections since then. In Canada, Tommy Douglas is often cited as the Father of Medicare
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
since, as Saskatchewan Premier, he introduced Canada's first publicly funded, universal healthcare system to the province. Despite the continued success of the Saskatchewan branch of the party, the NDP was shut out of Saskatchewan in the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
for the first time since the 1965 election, a result which was repeated in 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, 2008
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
and 2011. The New Democratic Party has also formed government in Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and in Yukon.
Current members of Parliament
The 2011 federal election gave the NDP 103 seats.Only two NDP incumbents who ran for re-election were defeated: Jim Maloway
Jim Maloway
Peter James "Jim" Maloway is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the Winnipeg division of Elmwood—Transcona in the 2008 federal election as a member of the New Democratic Party. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1986 to 2008,...
in Elmwood—Transcona
Elmwood—Transcona
Elmwood—Transcona is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. Its population in 2006 was 78,700....
(MB), and Tony Martin
Tony Martin (politician)
Anthony A. "Tony" Martin is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2003, representing the riding of Sault Ste. Marie for the Ontario New Democratic Party . He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the federal NDP in 2004, again...
in Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie (electoral district)
Sault Ste. Marie is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.In 2004, due to population changes in boundary distribution, the riding expanded significantly to include a significant portion of the Algoma District, from...
(ON). Bill Siksay
Bill Siksay
William Livingstone Siksay, former MP is a Canadian politician, and was the Member of Parliament who represented the British Columbia riding of Burnaby—Douglas for the New Democratic Party from 2004 to 2011.Receiving his high school diploma from McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute in...
in Burnaby—Douglas
Burnaby—Douglas
Burnaby—Douglas is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-History:...
(BC) chose not to run again, but Kennedy Stewart
Kennedy Stewart (Canadian politician)
Kennedy Stewart is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the federal New Democratic Party in the 2011 election, representing the electoral district of Burnaby—Douglas. He is formerly a professor of political science at Simon Fraser University, where he also...
retained the seat for the NDP.
For a list of NDP MPs and their critic portfolios, see New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet
New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet
This is a list of members of the New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet of the 40th Canadian parliament. Positions in the shadow cabinet were announced on November 17, 2008, and include all 37 members of the New Democratic Party caucus in the Canadian House of Commons except Joe Comartin who was...
.
41st Parliament - Currently elected members
- Malcolm AllenMalcolm Allen (politician)Malcolm Allen is a Canadian politician. He has represented the riding of Welland in the Canadian House of Commons since 2008 as a member of the New Democratic Party...
, WellandWelland (electoral district)Welland is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988, and since 2004. Its population in 2006 was 112,875....
(ON) - Charlie AngusCharlie AngusCharles Joseph Angus MP is a Canadian writer, broadcaster, musician, and politician. Angus entered electoral politics in 2004 as the successful New Democratic Party candidate in the Ontario riding of Timmins—James Bay. He was the NDP parliamentary critic for Canadian Heritage from 2004 to 2007,...
, Timmins—James BayTimmins—James BayTimmins—James Bay is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 84,001....
(ON) - Niki AshtonNiki AshtonNiki Christina Ashton is the New Democratic Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada. She was first elected in the 2008 federal election....
, ChurchillChurchill (electoral district)Churchill is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It covers northern Manitoba, a vast wilderness area dotted with small municipalities and First Nations reserves...
(MB) - Alex AtamanenkoAlex AtamanenkoAlex T. Atamanenko MP is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons in 2006, winning the riding of British Columbia Southern Interior for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 federal election...
, British Columbia Southern InteriorBritish Columbia Southern InteriorBritish Columbia Southern Interior is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Description:...
(BC) - Robert AubinRobert AubinRobert Aubin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Trois-Rivières as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Trois-RivièresTrois-Rivières (electoral district)Trois-Rivières is an electoral district in Quebec, Canada that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1892 and from 1935 to the present....
(QC) - Paulina AyalaPaulina AyalaPaulina Ayala is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Honoré-Mercier, first elected in the 2011 federal election. She is a member of the New Democratic Party. She succeeded Pablo Rodríguez of the Liberal Party....
, Honoré-MercierHonoré-Mercier (electoral district)Honoré-Mercier is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. Its population in 2006 was 106,196.-Geography:...
(QC) - Tyrone BenskinTyrone BenskinTyrone Benskin is a Canadian actor and politician. He was elected Member of Parliament in the Jeanne-Le Ber riding, in Montreal, Quebec, in the 2011 Canadian federal election.-Life and career:...
, Jeanne-Le Ber (QC) - Dennis BevingtonDennis BevingtonDennis Fraser Bevington is a politician from the Northwest Territories, Canada. Born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories he served as mayor of that town of 2,500 from 1988 to 1997. As mayor he made the town quadrilingual, recognizing Chipewyan and Cree as official languages.He is also a...
, Western ArcticWestern ArcticWestern Arctic is a federal electoral district and senate division in Northwest Territories, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979....
(NT) - Denis BlanchetteDenis BlanchetteDenis Blanchette is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Louis-Hébert as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Louis-HébertLouis-Hébert (electoral district)Louis-Hébert is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Represented in the House of Commons since 2004, its population was certified, according to the detailed statistics of 2001, as 98,156.-Geography:...
(QC) - Lysane Blanchette-LamotheLysane Blanchette-LamotheLysane Blanchette-Lamothe is a Canadian politician. She was elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard in the 2011 Canadian federal election as a member of the New Democratic Party, defeating longtime Liberal MP Bernard Patry....
, Pierrefonds—DollardPierrefonds—DollardPierrefonds—Dollard is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. Its population in 2001 was 102,542....
(QC) - Françoise BoivinFrançoise BoivinFrançoise Boivin is a Canadian politician, who represents the electoral district of Gatineau in the Canadian House of Commons....
, GatineauGatineau (electoral district)Gatineau is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1949 to 1988 and since 1997. Its population in 2006 was 108,742....
(QC) - Charmaine BorgCharmaine BorgCharmaine Borg is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Terrebonne—Blainville in Quebec, having been first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election. She defeated incumbent MP Diane Bourgeois of the Bloc Québécois.A Montreal resident, Borg was born in Keswick,...
, Terrebonne—BlainvilleTerrebonne—BlainvilleTerrebonne—Blainville is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867....
(QC) - Alexandre BoulericeAlexandre BoulericeAlexandre Boulerice is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election...
, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie (QC) - Marjolaine Boutin-SweetMarjolaine Boutin-SweetMarjolaine Boutin-Sweet is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Hochelaga as a member of the New Democratic Party. Prior to her election Boutin-Sweet worked as a guide at the Pointe-à-Callière Museum...
, HochelagaHochelaga (electoral district)Hochelaga is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988 and since 2004...
(QC) - Tarik BrahmiTarik BrahmiTarik Brahmi is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Jean, first elected in the 2011 federal election. He is a member of the New Democratic Party...
, Saint-JeanSaint-Jean (electoral district)Saint-Jean is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.-Geography:The riding extends along the Richelieu River southeast of Montreal, in the Quebec region of Montérégie...
(QC) - Ruth Ellen BrosseauRuth Ellen BrosseauRuth Ellen Brosseau is a Canadian politician. She was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a New Democratic Party candidate in the 2011 federal election.-Early life:...
, Berthier—MaskinongéBerthier—MaskinongéBerthier—Maskinongé is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953, from 1968 to 1988, and since 2004...
(QC) - Guy CaronGuy CaronGuy Caron is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques as a member of the New Democratic Party...
, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les BasquesRimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les BasquesRimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Geography:...
(QC) - Andrew CashAndrew CashAndrew Cash is a Canadian singer-songwriter and a Member of Parliament for the Toronto-area Davenport electoral district. He grew up in Toronto, where he befriended future MP, Charlie Angus, and along with Angus founded the Toronto punk band L'Étranger. In the late 1990s, he also became a...
, DavenportDavenport (electoral district)Davenport is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. Its population in 2001 was 111,705.-Geography:...
(ON) - Chris CharltonChris CharltonChris Charlton, MP, MA is a German-born, Canadian politician from the City of Hamilton, Ontario. As a New Democrat, she has served as the Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain since 2006...
, Hamilton MountainHamilton MountainHamilton Mountain is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. The riding is located in the Hamilton, Ontario region....
(ON) - Sylvain ChicoineSylvain ChicoineSylvain Chicoine is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Châteauguay—Saint-Constant as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Châteauguay—Saint-ConstantChâteauguay—Saint-ConstantChâteauguay—Saint-Constant is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(QC) - Robert Chisholm, Dartmouth—Cole HarbourDartmouth—Cole HarbourDartmouth—Cole Harbour is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(NS) - François ChoquetteFrançois ChoquetteFrançois Choquette is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Drummond as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, DrummondDrummond (electoral district)Drummond is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.It was created in 1966 from Drummond—Arthabaska, Nicolet—Yamaska and Richmond—Wolfe.-Geography:...
(QC) - Olivia ChowOlivia ChowOlivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
, Trinity—SpadinaTrinity—SpadinaTrinity—Spadina is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988.It generally encompasses the western portion of Downtown Toronto. In the 2001 Canadian census, the riding had 106,094 people, of whom 74,409 were eligible to...
(ON) - David ChristophersonDavid ChristophersonDavid Christopherson is a Canadian politician. Since 2004, he has represented the riding of Hamilton Centre in the Canadian House of Commons. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister in the provincial government of Bob Rae...
, Hamilton CentreHamilton CentreHamilton Centre is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It was created in 2003 from parts of Hamilton East, Hamilton West and Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot ridings....
(ON) - Ryan ClearyRyan ClearyRyan Cleary is a Canadian politician and journalist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for St. John's South—Mount Pearl....
, St. John's South—Mount PearlSt. John's South—Mount PearlSt. John's South redirects here. For the provincial electoral district please see St. John's South St. John's South—Mount Pearl is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Demographics:Ethnic groups:...
(NL) - Joe Comartin, Windsor—TecumsehWindsor—TecumsehWindsor—Tecumseh is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It was created in 2003 from parts of Essex and Windsor—St. Clair ridings....
(ON) - Raymond CôtéRaymond CôtéRaymond Côté is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Beauport—Limoilou as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Beauport—LimoilouBeauport—LimoilouBeauport—Limoilou is a federal electoral district in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004....
(QC) - Jean CrowderJean CrowderJean A. Crowder is a Canadian politician, who has been an MP since 2004.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Crowder received a degree in psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario....
, Nanaimo—CowichanNanaimo—CowichanNanaimo—Cowichan is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
(BC) - Nathan CullenNathan CullenNathan Cullen is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Skeena—Bulkley Valley in the Canadian House of Commons. He is a candidate for the federal leadership of the NDP. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Cullen is fluent in English, French and Spanish and is married with young twin sons...
, Skeena—Bulkley ValleySkeena—Bulkley ValleySkeena—Bulkley Valley is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Geography:...
(BC) - Don DaviesDon DaviesDon Davies MP is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party, representing the riding of Vancouver Kingsway. He is also Canada's official opposition Critic for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism....
, Vancouver KingswayVancouver KingswayVancouver Kingsway is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1988 and since 1997. It is located in Vancouver.-Demographics:...
(BC) - Libby DaviesLibby DaviesLibby Davies is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party , representing the riding of Vancouver East in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2007, she was named Deputy Leader of the federal NDP, jointly with Thomas Mulcair.-Background:Davies was born in Aldershot, England and...
, Vancouver EastVancouver EastVancouver East is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935....
(BC) (Co-Deputy Leader) - Anne-Marie DayAnne-Marie DayAnne-Marie Day is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-CharlesCharlesbourg—Haute-Saint-CharlesCharlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It was created as "Charlesbourg" riding in 2003 from parts of Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier riding...
(QC) - Paul DewarPaul DewarPaul W. Dewar is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa Centre.Dewar is a member of the New Democratic Party and was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election...
, Ottawa CentreOttawa CentreOttawa Centre is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968...
(ON) - Pierre Dionne LabellePierre Dionne LabellePierre Dionne Labelle is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Rivière-du-Nord as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Rivière-du-NordRivière-du-Nord (electoral district)Rivière-du-Nord is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2001 was 90,419.-Geography:The district consists of the La Rivière-du-Nord Regional County Municipality...
(QC) - Fin Donnelly, New Westminster—CoquitlamNew Westminster—CoquitlamNew Westminster—Coquitlam is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1988, and since 2004.-Demographics:...
(BC) - Matthew Dubé, Chambly—BorduasChambly—BorduasChambly—Borduas is a federal electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935, and since 1968. Created by the British North America Act of 1867, its name was changed in 1893 to "Chambly—Verchères"...
(QC) - Linda DuncanLinda DuncanLinda Francis Duncan is a Canadian lawyer and politician, currently serving as a Member of Parliament for the riding of Edmonton—Strathcona in Alberta. She is a member of the New Democratic Party and, since 2008, she has been the only MP from an Alberta riding not a member of the Conservative Party...
, Edmonton—StrathconaEdmonton—StrathconaEdmonton—Strathcona is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton.-Geography:...
(AB) - Pierre-Luc Dusseault, SherbrookeSherbrooke (electoral district)Sherbrooke is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925.-Geography:This riding in the south of the province is located in the Quebec region of Estrie...
(QC) - Mylène FreemanMylène FreemanMylène Freeman is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel in Quebec, first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election after defeating incumbent MP Mario Laframboise of the Bloc Québécois.Born in Stouffville, Ontario, she is fluent in both...
, Argenteuil—Papineau—MirabelArgenteuil—Papineau—MirabelArgenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867.-Geography:...
(QC) - Randall GarrisonRandall GarrisonRandall C. Garrison is a Canadian politician and Member of Parliament in the 41st Parliament. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election. He represents the electoral district of Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca and is a member of the New Democratic Party...
, Esquimalt—Juan de FucaEsquimalt—Juan de FucaEsquimalt—Juan de Fuca is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988.-Demographics:-Geography:It initially consisted of:...
(BC) - Réjean GenestRéjean GenestRéjean Genest is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Shefford as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, SheffordShefford (electoral district)Shefford is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867. Its population in 2006 was 100,000.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 99.2% WhiteLanguages: 95.2% French, 3.2% English...
(QC) - Jonathan Genest-JourdainJonathan Genest-JourdainJonathan Genest-Jourdain is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Manicouagan, first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election. He succeeded Gérard Asselin of the Bloc Québécois...
, ManicouaganManicouagan (electoral district)Manicouagan is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The riding was created in 1966 from parts of Charlevoix and Saguenay ridings....
(QC) - Alain GiguèreAlain GiguèreAlain Giguère is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Marc-Aurèle-Fortin as a member of the New Democratic Party.Prior to being elected, Giguère was a tax lawyer...
, Marc-Aurèle-FortinMarc-Aurèle-Fortin (electoral district)Marc-Aurèle-Fortin is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2001 was 99,044.-Geography:...
(QC) - Yvon GodinYvon GodinYvon Godin is a Canadian politician.Godin is currently a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Acadie—Bathurst since 1997. Previously, Godin was a labour representative for the United Steelworkers...
, Acadie—BathurstAcadie—BathurstAcadie—Bathurst is a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867. Its population in 2001 was 76,392....
(NB) - Claude GravelleClaude GravelleClaude Gravelle is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the electoral district of Nickel Belt in the 2008 Canadian federal election. He is a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Nickel BeltNickel BeltNickel Belt is one of two federal electoral districts serving the Greater City of Sudbury.Nickel Belt has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953.It consists of:...
(ON) - Sadia GroguhéSadia GroguhéSadia Groguhé is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Saint-Lambert as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Saint-LambertSaint-Lambert (electoral district)Saint-Lambert is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. It has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2006 was 94,541.-Geography:...
(QC) - Dan HarrisDan Harris (politician)Dan Harris is a Canadian New Democratic Party politician, who represented the riding of Scarborough Southwest since the 2011 election and is the Opposition's Deputy Critic for Science and Technology.-Background:...
, Scarborough SouthwestScarborough SouthwestScarborough Southwest is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons.On Toronto City Council, the southeast portion is represented by Gary Crawford. The northwest section is represented by Michelle Berardinetti.-Geography:It covers the...
(ON) - Jack HarrisJack Harris (politician)John James "Jack" Harris MP is a Canadian lawyer and politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Harris is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for St. John's East and is a former leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party...
, St. John's EastSt. John's EastSt. John's East is a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949....
(NL) - Sana HassainiaSana HassainiaSana Hassainia is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Verchères—Les Patriotes as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Verchères—Les PatriotesVerchères—Les PatriotesVerchères—Les Patriotes is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.-Geography:...
(QC) - Carol HughesCarol HughesCarol Hughes is a Canadian politician, who has represented the electoral district of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing in the Canadian House of Commons since 2008. She is a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Algoma—Manitoulin—KapuskasingAlgoma—Manitoulin—KapuskasingAlgoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(ON) - Bruce HyerBruce HyerBruce Tolhurst Hyer is an American-born Canadian politician, who was first elected to represent the electoral district of Thunder Bay—Superior North in the 2008 Canadian federal election, and re-elected with a wider margin in the 2011 federal election...
, Thunder Bay—Superior NorthThunder Bay—Superior NorthThunder Bay—Superior North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1976....
(ON) - Pierre JacobPierre JacobPierre Jacob is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Brome—Missisquoi as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Brome—MissisquoiBrome—MissisquoiBrome—Missisquoi is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925...
(QC) - Peter JulianPeter JulianPeter S. Julian is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party, representing the riding of Burnaby—New Westminster.-Personal life:...
, Burnaby—New WestminsterBurnaby—New WestminsterBurnaby—New Westminster is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Demographics:...
(BC) - Matthew KellwayMatthew KellwayMatthew Kellway is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Beaches—East York in the 2011 Canadian federal election. He defeated 18-year incumbent Maria Minna by a margin of more than 5,000 votes.-Background:...
, Beaches—East YorkBeaches—East YorkBeaches—East York is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988....
(ON) - François LapointeFrançois Lapointe (politician)François Lapointe is a Canadian politician, currently MP for the electoral district of Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.On the night of the 2011 election, Lapointe was initially declared unsuccessful in his riding, losing narrowly to incumbent MP Bernard Généreux...
, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-LoupMontmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-LoupMontmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(QC) - Jean-François LaroseJean-François LaroseJean-François Larose is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Repentigny as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, RepentignyRepentigny (electoral district)Repentigny is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.It consists solely and entirely of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption.-Demographics:...
(QC) - Alexandrine LatendresseAlexandrine LatendresseAlexandrine Latendresse is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Louis-Saint-Laurent, first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election. She succeeded former Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Josée Verner of the Conservative Party...
, Louis-Saint-Laurent (QC) - Hélène LaverdièreHélène LaverdièreHélène Laverdière is a politician in Canada. She was elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie in the 2011 Canadian federal election as a member of the New Democratic Party, defeating Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe in his riding.Laverdière obtained her Ph.D in...
, Laurier—Sainte-MarieLaurier—Sainte-MarieLaurier—Sainte-Marie is a federal electoral district in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
(QC) - Hélène LeBlancHélène LeBlancHélène LeBlanc is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election, defeating freshman incumbent Lise Zarac of the Liberal Party. She represents the electoral district of LaSalle—Émard as a member of the New Democratic Party. In the official opposition...
, LaSalle—ÉmardLaSalle—ÉmardLaSalle—Émard is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. Its population in 2001 was 99,767. It is represented by New Democrat Hélène LeBlanc...
(QC) - Rosane Doré LefebvreRosane Doré LefebvreRosane Doré Lefebvre is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Alfred-Pellan as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Alfred-PellanAlfred-Pellan (electoral district)Alfred-Pellan is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. Its population in 2006 was 104,765.-Geography:...
(QC) - Megan LeslieMegan LeslieMegan Leslie is a Canadian politician, who has been the federal Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Halifax since the 2008 Canadian federal election. She is a member of the New Democratic Party and serves as the NDP critic for the environment...
, HalifaxHalifax (electoral district)Halifax is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867.Since October 14, 2008, its Member of the Parliament has been Megan Leslie of the New Democratic Party....
(NS) - Laurin Liu, Rivière-des-Mille-ÎlesRivière-des-Mille-Îles (electoral district)Rivière-des-Mille-Îles is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-Geography:...
(QC) - Hoang MaiHoang Mai (politician)Hoang Mai is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Brossard—La Prairie in the 2011 Canadian federal election...
, Brossard—La PrairieBrossard—La PrairieBrossard—La Prairie is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2006 was 113,985.-Geography:...
(QC) - Wayne MarstonWayne MarstonWayne L. Marston is a Canadian politician. Marston was the New Democratic Party candidate for the Hamilton, Ontario riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the 2006 federal election, defeating incumbent Tony Valeri by a 466 vote margin.Prior to his election to the Canadian House of Commons,...
, Hamilton East—Stoney CreekHamilton East—Stoney CreekHamilton East—Stoney Creek is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.The riding was formed in 2003 from parts of the former ridings of Hamilton East and Stoney Creek....
(ON) - Pat MartinPat MartinPatrick "Pat" Martin is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Canadian House of Commons since 1997, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party.-Career:...
, Winnipeg CentreWinnipeg CentreWinnipeg Centre is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1925 and since 1997...
(MB) - Brian MasseBrian MasseBrian S. Masse is a Canadian politician. He has served in the Canadian House of Commons since 2002, representing the riding of Windsor West as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Windsor WestWindsor WestWindsor West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west and south of a line drawn from the U.S...
(ON) - Irene MathyssenIrene MathyssenIrene R. Mathyssen is a Canadian politician and a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons...
, London—FanshaweLondon—FanshaweLondon—Fanshawe is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-Geography:The district consists of the southeast part of the City of London....
(ON) - Élaine MichaudÉlaine MichaudÉlaine Michaud is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Portneuf—Jacques-CartierPortneuf—Jacques-CartierPortneuf—Jacques-Cartier is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867...
(QC) - Christine MooreChristine Moore (politician)Christine Moore is a Canadian politician. On May 2, 2011, she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Abitibi—Témiscamingue for the New Democratic Party in Quebec during the 2011 Canadian federal election...
, Abitibi—TémiscamingueAbitibi—TémiscamingueAbitibi—Témiscamingue is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. The area was also represented by the electoral district of Témiscamingue from 1968 until 2004.-Geography:...
(QC) - Dany MorinDany MorinDany Morin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Chicoutimi—Le FjordChicoutimi—Le FjordChicoutimi—Le Fjord is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925.It was created as "Chicoutimi" riding in 1924 from Chicoutimi—Saguenay...
(QC) - Isabelle MorinIsabelle MorinIsabelle Morin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—LachineNotre-Dame-de-Grâce—LachineNotre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997...
(QC) - Marc-André MorinMarc-André MorinMarc-André Morin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Laurentides—Labelle as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Laurentides—LabelleLaurentides—LabelleLaurentides—Labelle is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2001 was 96,133.-Geography:...
(QC) - Marie-Claude MorinMarie-Claude MorinMarie-Claude Morin is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Saint-Hyacinthe—BagotSaint-Hyacinthe—BagotSaint-Hyacinthe—Bagot is a federal electoral district that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1935. It is located in Quebec, Canada. Its population in 2006 was 95,983.-Geography:...
(QC) - Thomas MulcairThomas MulcairThomas J. "Tom" Mulcair is a Canadian lawyer, university professor, and politician. He is the federal Member of Parliament for Outremont, Quebec, Canada, and currently holds a seat in the New Democratic Party of Canada...
, OutremontOutremont (electoral district)Outremont is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1949, and since 1968...
(QC) (Co-Deputy Leader, Quebec lieutenantQuebec lieutenantIn Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a politician, from Quebec, usually a francophone and most often a Member of Parliament or at least a current or former candidate for Parliament, who is selected by a senior politician such as the Prime Minister or the leader of a national federal party,...
) - Pierre NantelPierre NantelPierre Nantel is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, first elected in the 2011 federal election. He is a member of the New Democratic Party. He succeeded Jean Dorion of the Bloc Québécois....
, Longueuil—Pierre-BoucherLongueuil—Pierre-BoucherLongueuil—Pierre-Boucher is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(QC) - Peggy NashPeggy NashPeggy A. Nash is a Canadian labour official and politician from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for the Parkdale—High Park electoral district in Toronto, and was the Official Opposition's Finance Critic, in Canada's 41st parliament...
, Parkdale—High ParkParkdale—High ParkParkdale—High Park is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.Peggy Nash of the New Democratic Party was elected the Member of Parliament for the riding on May 2, 2011....
(ON) - Jamie Nicholls, Vaudreuil-SoulangesVaudreuil-Soulanges (electoral district)Vaudreuil-Soulanges is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. From 1914 to 1968 a similarly-defined electoral district existed under the slightly different designation Vaudreuil—Soulanges.It consists of the...
(QC) - José Nunez-MeloJosé Nunez-MeloJosé Nunez-Melo is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Laval as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, LavalLaval (electoral district)Laval is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917, 1949 to 1979, and since 2004. Its population in 2001 was 98,831.-Geography:...
(QC) - Annick PapillonAnnick PapillonAnnick Papillon is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Québec as a member of the New Democratic Party.- Biography :...
, Québec (QC) - Claude PatryClaude PatryClaude Patry is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Jonquière—Alma, first elected in the 2011 Canadian federal election. He is a member of the New Democratic Party...
, Jonquière—AlmaJonquière—AlmaJonquière—Alma is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It was created in 2003 from parts of Jonquière and Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay ridings.It consists of:...
(QC) - Ève PécletÈve PécletÈve Péclet is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of La Pointe-de-l'Île as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, La Pointe-de-l'ÎleLa Pointe-de-l'Île (electoral district)La Pointe-de-l'Île is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2001 was 98,878....
(QC) - Manon PerreaultManon PerreaultManon Perreault is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Montcalm as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, MontcalmMontcalm (electoral district)Montcalm is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917 and since 2004....
(QC) - François PilonFrançois PilonFrançois Pilon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election as the member for Laval-Les Îles. Pilon is a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Laval—Les ÎlesLaval—Les ÎlesLaval—Les Îles is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.Its population in 2001 was 100,137...
(QC) - Anne Minh-Thu QuachAnne Minh-Thu QuachAnne Minh-Thu Quach, MP is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Beauharnois—Salaberry as a member of the New Democratic Party.She has taught French in a high school there for six years...
, Beauharnois—SalaberryBeauharnois—SalaberryBeauharnois—Salaberry is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.-Geography:...
(QC) - John Rafferty, Thunder Bay—Rainy RiverThunder Bay—Rainy RiverThunder Bay—Rainy River is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(ON) - Mathieu Ravignat, PontiacPontiac (electoral district)Pontiac is a federal electoral district in south-western Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1949 and since 1968....
(QC) - Francine RaynaultFrancine RaynaultFrancine Raynault is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 Canadian federal election. She represents the electoral district of Joliette as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, JolietteJoliette (electoral district)Joliette is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935 and since 1968.-Geography:...
(QC) - Jean RousseauJean Rousseau (politician)Jean Rousseau is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Compton—Stanstead as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Compton—StansteadCompton—StansteadCompton—Stanstead is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.It was created in 1996 from Richmond—Wolfe and Sherbrooke ridings.-Geography:...
(QC) - Romeo SaganashRoméo SaganashRomeo Saganash, is a Canadian politician and the Member of Parliament for the Quebec riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou...
, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—EeyouAbitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—EeyouAbitibi and Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou is a federal riding in the province of Quebec, Canada, that have been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1966."Abitibi" was created in 1966, and renamed "Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik"...
(QC) - Jasbir SandhuJasbir SandhuJasbir Sandhu is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Surrey North as a member of the New Democratic Party. He is the official opposition critic for Public Safety.-External link:...
, Surrey NorthSurrey NorthSurrey North is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. It covers the northern part of Surrey....
(BC) - Denise SavoieDenise SavoieDenise Savoie is a Canadian politician, currently serving as the federal Member of Parliament for Victoria. She was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2006 federal election as a candidate of the New Democratic Party....
, VictoriaVictoria (electoral district)Victoria is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1872 to 1904 and since 1925....
(BC) - Djaouida SellahDjaouida SellahDjaouida Sellah, MD, is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Saint-Bruno—Saint-HubertSaint-Bruno—Saint-HubertSaint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988...
(QC) - Jinny SimsJinny SimsJinny Jogindera Sims is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Newton—North Delta as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Newton—North DeltaNewton—North DeltaNewton—North Delta is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(BC) - Rathika Sitsabaiesan, Scarborough—Rouge RiverScarborough—Rouge RiverScarborough—Rouge River is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988....
(ON) - Lise St-DenisLise St-DenisLise St-Denis is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. She represents the electoral district of Saint-Maurice—Champlain as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Saint-Maurice—ChamplainSaint-Maurice—ChamplainSaint-Maurice—Champlain is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.It consists of:* the City of Shawinigan;...
(QC) - Kennedy StewartKennedy Stewart (Canadian politician)Kennedy Stewart is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the federal New Democratic Party in the 2011 election, representing the electoral district of Burnaby—Douglas. He is formerly a professor of political science at Simon Fraser University, where he also...
, Burnaby—DouglasBurnaby—DouglasBurnaby—Douglas is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.-History:...
(BC) - Peter StofferPeter StofferPeter Arend Stoffer is a Canadian politician.Stoffer is currently a member of the New Democratic Party caucus in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Sackville—Eastern Shore. He represented Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore after the 2000 election, and after the...
, Sackville—Eastern ShoreSackville—Eastern ShoreSackville—Eastern Shore is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997...
(NS) - Mike Sullivan, York South—WestonYork South—WestonYork South—Weston is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.-Electoral district:It is in the west-end of Toronto. The riding has a largely working class and immigrant population...
(ON) - Glenn ThibeaultGlenn ThibeaultGlenn Thibeault is a Canadian politician. Since 2008, he has represented the Ontario electoral district of Sudbury in the Canadian House of Commons...
, SudburySudbury (electoral district)Sudbury is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.Its population in 2001 was 89,443. The district is one of two serving the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario....
(ON) - Philip ToonePhilip ToonePhilip Toone is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election-Early life:Philip Toone was born in Ottawa in 1965, He currently resides in Maria, Quebec, with his partner of 13 years...
, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-MadeleineGaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine (electoral district)Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004....
(QC) - Jonathan TremblayJonathan TremblayJonathan Tremblay is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord as a member of the New Democratic Party....
, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-NordMontmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-NordMontmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
(QC) - Nycole TurmelNycole TurmelNycole Turmel, MP is the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Canadian Parliament. She was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, representing the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer, and became interim leader of the New Democratic Party after leader Jack...
, Hull—AylmerHull—AylmerHull—Aylmer is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1917....
(QC)
Federal leaders
| # | Picture | Leader | Started | Ended | Birth | Death | Ridings while leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician... |
August 3, 1961 | April 24, 1971 | October 20, 1904 | February 24, 1986 | Burnaby—Coquitlam Burnaby—Coquitlam Burnaby—Coquitlam was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1968.This riding was created in 1952 from parts of Burnaby—Richmond riding.... , Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979.This riding was created in 1903 as "Nanaimo" riding... , BC |
|
| 2 | David Lewis David Lewis (politician) David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961... |
April 24, 1971 | July 7, 1975 | June 23, 1909 | May 23, 1981 | York South York South York South was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1999.... , ON |
|
| 3 | John Edward "Ed" Broadbent Ed Broadbent John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life... |
July 7, 1975 | December 5, 1989 | March 21, 1936 | - | Oshawa—Whitby, Oshawa Oshawa (electoral district) Oshawa is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.... , ON |
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| 4 | Audrey Marlene McLaughlin Audrey McLaughlin Audrey McLaughlin, PC, OC was leader of Canada's New Democratic Party from 1989 to 1995. She was the first female leader of a political party with representation in the Canadian House of Commons, as well as the first federal political party leader to represent an electoral district in a Canadian... |
December 5, 1989 | October 14, 1995 | November 7, 1936 | - | Yukon Yukon (electoral district) Yukon is the only federal electoral district in Yukon Territory, Canada. It has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1902 to 1949 and since 1953.... , YK |
|
| 5 |  |
Alexa Ann McDonough Alexa McDonough Alexa Ann Shaw McDonough OC is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's leader in 1980... |
October 14, 1995 | January 25, 2003 | August 11, 1944 | - | Halifax Halifax (electoral district) Halifax is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1867.Since October 14, 2008, its Member of the Parliament has been Megan Leslie of the New Democratic Party.... , NS |
| 6 | John Gilbert "Jack" Layton Jack Layton John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of... |
January 25, 2003 | August 22, 2011 (leave of absence from July 28, 2011) | July 18, 1950 | August 22, 2011 | Toronto—Danforth Toronto—Danforth Toronto—Danforth is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto.... , ON |
|
| interim | Nycole Turmel Nycole Turmel Nycole Turmel, MP is the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Canadian Parliament. She was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, representing the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer, and became interim leader of the New Democratic Party after leader Jack... |
July 28, 2011 | incumbent | September 1, 1942 | - | Hull—Aylmer Hull—Aylmer Hull—Aylmer is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1917.... , QC |
Federal election results 1962–present
Highest values are bolded| Election | Leader | # of candidates | # of seats won | # of total votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 Canadian federal election, 1962 The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada... |
Tommy Douglas Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician... |
217 | 19 | 1,044,754 | 13.57% |
| 1963 Canadian federal election, 1963 The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in... |
Tommy Douglas | 232 | 17 | 1,044,701 | 13.24% |
| 1965 Canadian federal election, 1965 The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House... |
Tommy Douglas | 255 | 21 | 1,381,658 | 17.91% |
| 1968 Canadian federal election, 1968 The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada... |
Tommy Douglas | 263 | 22 | 1,378,263 | 16.96% |
| 1972 Canadian federal election, 1972 The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive... |
David Lewis David Lewis (politician) David Lewis, CC was a Russian-born Canadian labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950, and one of the key architects of the New Democratic Party in 1961... |
252 | 31 | 1,725,719 | 17.83% |
| 1974 Canadian federal election, 1974 The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term... |
David Lewis | 262 | 16 | 1,467,748 | 15.44% |
| 1979 Canadian federal election, 1979 The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive... |
Ed Broadbent Ed Broadbent John Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life... |
282 | 26 | 2,048,988 | 17.88% |
| 1980 Canadian federal election, 1980 The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada... |
Ed Broadbent | 280 | 32 | 2,150,368 | 19.67% |
| 1984 Canadian federal election, 1984 The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada... |
Ed Broadbent | 282 | 30 | 2,359,915 | 18.81% |
| 1988 Canadian federal election, 1988 The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement .... |
Ed Broadbent | 295 | 43 | 2,685,263 | 20.38% |
| 1993 Canadian federal election, 1993 The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time... |
Audrey McLaughlin Audrey McLaughlin Audrey McLaughlin, PC, OC was leader of Canada's New Democratic Party from 1989 to 1995. She was the first female leader of a political party with representation in the Canadian House of Commons, as well as the first federal political party leader to represent an electoral district in a Canadian... |
294 | 9 | 933,688 | 6.88% |
| 1997 Canadian federal election, 1997 The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government... |
Alexa McDonough Alexa McDonough Alexa Ann Shaw McDonough OC is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's leader in 1980... |
301 | 21 | 1,434,509 | 11.05% |
| 2000 Canadian federal election, 2000 The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada.... |
Alexa McDonough | 298 | 13 | 1,093,748 | 8.51% |
| 2004 Canadian federal election, 2004 The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections... |
Jack Layton Jack Layton John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of... |
308 | 19 | 2,116,536 | 15.68% |
| 2006 Canadian federal election, 2006 The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:... |
Jack Layton | 308 | 29 | 2,589,597 | 17.48% |
| 2008 Canadian federal election, 2008 The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008... |
Jack Layton | 308 | 37 | 2,517,075 | 18.13% |
| 2011 | Jack Layton | 308 | 103 | 4,508,474 | 30.63% |
See also
- List of political parties in Canada
- New Democratic Party leadership elections
- NDP Socialist CaucusNew Democratic Party Socialist CaucusThe New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus is an unofficial left-wing faction within Canada's New Democratic Party. Its manifesto maintains that the New Democratic Party has moved too far to the right, and is in danger of becoming indistinguishable from the Liberal Party...
- New Democratic Party candidates, 2011 Canadian federal election
- New Democratic Party candidates, 2008 Canadian federal election
- New Democratic Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal electionNew Democratic Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal electionThe New Democratic Party fielded a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. It won 29 seats in the election to remain the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons...
- New Democratic Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal electionNew Democratic Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal electionThe New Democratic Party ran a full slate of candidates in the 2004 federal election, and elected nineteen members to become the fourth largest party in the legislature. Many of the party's candidate have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here.-Samuel McLean :McLean...
- New Democratic Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal electionNew Democratic Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal electionThe New Democratic Party won thirteen seats in the 2000 federal election, emerging as the fourth-largest party in the Canadian House of Commons. Many of the party's candidates have their own biography pages; information on others may be found here....
- New Democratic Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal electionNew Democratic Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal electionThe New Democratic Party of Canada ran a full slate of candidates in the 1997 federal election, and won 21 seats out of 301 to emerge as the fourth-largest party in the Canadian House of Commons...
- New Democratic Party candidates, 1993 Canadian federal electionNew Democratic Party candidates, 1993 Canadian federal electionThe New Democratic Party of Canada ran a full slate of candidates in the 1993 federal election, and won 9 seats out of 295. This brought the NDP below official party status in the Canadian House of Commons for the first, and to date only time in its history.Many of the party's candidates have...
- New Democratic Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal electionNew Democratic Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal electionThe New Democratic Party ran a full slate of 295 candidates in the 1988 federal election, and elected 43 members to become the third-largest party in parliament. Many of the party's candidates have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here.-Newfoundland and...
- Douglas-Coldwell FoundationDouglas-Coldwell FoundationThe Douglas-Coldwell Foundation is a Canadian think tank devoted, in the words of its slogan, to "promoting education and research into social democracy." It was founded in 1971, and is based in Ottawa....
- New Politics InitiativeNew Politics InitiativeNew Politics InitiativeFounded:2001Dissolved:2004Political ideology:social democracy,democratic socialismThe New Politics Initiative was a faction of Canada's New Democratic Party...
- Regina ManifestoRegina ManifestoThe Regina Manifesto was the programme of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and was adopted at the first national convention of the CCF held in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1933. The primary goal of the "Regina Manifesto" was to eradicate the system of capitalism and replace it with a planned...
- The WaffleThe WaffleThe Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...
- Metro New Democratic PartyMetro New Democratic PartyThe Metro New Democratic Party was a political party in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It supported candidates for election to the municipal councils and school boards of the six municipalities that made up Metro Toronto...
- Municipal NDP in Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s - Young New DemocratsYoung New DemocratsThe New Democratic Youth of Canada is the youth wing of the New Democratic Party of Canada. Any party member, aged 25 or under is automatically a member of the NDYC and is eligible to attend and vote in the youth wing's convention....
- List of NDP members of provincial and territorial assemblies
- List of NDP members of parliament
- List of articles about CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about British Columbia CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Alberta CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Saskatchewan CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Manitoba CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about New Brunswick CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Ontario CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Newfoundland and Labrador CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Nova Scotia CCF/NDP members
- List of articles about Yukon NDP members