The Broadbent Institute and the Douglas-Coldwell Foundation are partnering to convene a national discussion on social democracy in Canada, on the occasion of Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017. “As we celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary, it is vitally important to reflect on this historical experience, and to re-examine the intellectual sources of social democratic achievement. An important first … Read more
The Broadbent Institute congratulates members of the electoral reform committee for rolling up their sleeves and finding common ground on something so vital as Canada’s electoral system. The large majority of expert witnesses who appeared before the committee agreed that our current system is past its best before day, and recommended that Canada join the majority of … Read more
After many years of study and debate, Broadbent Institute Chair Ed Broadbent urged members of the special parliamentary committee on electoral reform (ERRE) to work together to seize the historic opportunity to develop a made-in-Canada proportional representation system. “Canadians have been discussing electoral reform for decades. Indeed, more than a dozen committees, commissions and assemblies have studied it, and … Read more
As part of its commitment to supporting the development of a new generation of Canadian campaigners, the Broadbent Institute is launching Camp Progress Plus — a hands-on, intensive training and campaign placement opportunity for Canadian organizers and activists. The program, offered in collaboration with 270 strategies, a firm founded by senior strategists from U.S. President … Read more
The Broadbent Institute Executive Director Rick Smith said he welcomes the announcement by the Minister of Democratic Institutions to support the NDP motion to reconfigure the composition of the special parliamentary committee on electoral reform. “We congratulate NDP critic for democratic reform Nathan Cullen for proposing the idea and Minister Maryam Monsef for agreeing to this … Read more
The Broadbent Institute welcomes the launch of a special parliamentary committee to study new voting systems. According to their press release, “We know our current first-past-the-post system is broken. It creates false majorities, exacerbates regional divisions and produces legislatures that don’t reflect the diversity of our country. We have a chance to get this right and we … Read more
Charles Taylor and Olivia Chow awarded two leaders in policy research and campaigning with prizes named after two great Canadians at the country’s flagship progressive policy conference. Jill Piebiak, who spearheaded the successful No Tax on Tampons campaign last year, accepted the Jack Layton Progress Prize on behalf of Canadian Menstruators, an organization founded by Piebiak to press the … Read more
Broadbent Institute founder Ed Broadbent kicked off the two-day Progress Summit 2016 with a call for progressives to make sure the next election is held under a proportional voting system. Broadbent called on delegates to seize this “once-in-a-generation opportunity for progressive change, an opportunity to ensure we have a fair voting system in which every voter counts.” The Liberal government … Read more
The Broadbent Institute called the 2016-17 federal budget a missed opportunity to implement a fair tax agenda and build Canada’s shrunken fiscal capacity that is needed to fight inequality. While the new Canada Child Benefit is welcomed, the new income tax cut, however, is ill-advised. “If the federal capacity were at the same level as in … Read more
The Broadbent Institute released a new electoral reform primer outlining why the principle of proportionality must underpin the government’s promise to bring in voting reform by the next federal election. An electoral system for all: Why Canada should adopt proportional representation, by University of British Columbia political scientist David Moscrop, traces what’s wrong with our current … Read more
