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

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

Edward Broadbent is Skelton-Clark Fellow, Department of Political Studies, Queen's University. He was a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for twenty-one years, and leader of the NDP for fifteen years.

Edward Broadbent's profile page

Frances Abele is Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration and Academic Director of the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, both at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Frances Abele's profile page

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• Long-listed, J.W. Dafoe Book Prize

“Through conversations with leading progressive thinkers from different generations, this compelling book paints a vivid vision of social democracy on the canvas of the remarkable life and work of one of Canada's preeminent social democrats, Ed Broadbent.” — Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada

“This book tells the story of an exceptional politician: a social-democratic leader who is also a very insightful political theorist. Indeed, Ed Broadbent could have had a stellar academic career. The result is a rare account of political life, and its dilemmas, forged by both practical experience and deep theoretical reflection.” — Charles Taylor, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, McGill University

“We should all be grateful that Ed Broadbent has chosen to provide his reflections on his career and his advice for future generations of the Left. In the pages of this memoir, we can read, feel, and hear Ed’s profound decency, thoughtfulness, humanity, and wisdom. Read this book and you will be inspired by someone who has dedicated his life to seeking to improve the lives of Canadians and citizens across the world.” — Ed Miliband MP, Former Leader of the U.K. Labour Party

“Ed Broadbent and his colleagues have produced a welcome if uncommon book for our troubled times: a hopeful conversation across three generations about what it will take to build a future where we might live in harmony with one another and with nature. It is also a book about the leadership we need to get there: honest, humble, respectful, and with a passionate commitment to democracy, equality, and human rights — the kind of leadership Ed Broadbent exemplifies.” — Alex Himelfarb, Former Clerk of the Privy Council and Chair of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, National

“An interesting and instructive read about the history and contemporary reality of social progressivism in Canada, from one of its singular leaders.” — Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, OBC, KC

“Seeking Social Democracy is an excellent read and a major contribution to social democratic theory and practice. Ed Broadbent somehow manages to be simultaneously a tough partisan and a genial intellectual of high principle: politically pugnacious and a deep thinker who also respects conservative and liberal ideas and principles.” — Andrew Jackson, economist and author of Fire and the Ashes

“The insights in this unique, deeply personal writing will have you turning page after page, wanting more. It affirmed my beliefs about what we are fighting for and why.” — Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East 1997–2015 and author of Outside In

“Each contributor has a gift for taking difficult, sometimes abstract or arcane matters and bringing them down to earth, making them accessible and imparting matters from even decades ago a fresh, even pressing significance. The book is utterly fascinating, utterly reasonable and utterly required reading.” — The Tyee

“Readers seeking a comprehensive overview of the philosophies and achievements of former New Democratic Party leader and long-time advocate of social democracy Ed Broadbent will find Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight for Equality a good place to start … Reading Seeking Social Democracy gave me a deeper respect for the scope of Broadbent’s achievements and a better understanding of his beliefs and philosophies.” — The Miramichi Reader