| Current Leader: | Jack Layton |
| Founded: | June 17, 1961 |
| Headquarters: | 1001-75 Albert Street Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5E7 |
| Colours: | Orange |
| Political ideology: | social-democratic |
The New Democratic Party (NDP) is a federal and provincial political party in Canada. The furthest left of Canada's mainstream parties, it has had more electoral success provincially than federally. It is noted for its socialist roots and its connection with organized labour; a significant proportion of its membership consists of associate members who belong to the party by their membership in affiliated trade unions. The federal leader of the NDP is Jack Layton.
| Table of contents |
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2 Provincial Structure 3 Current Members of Parliament 4 Federal Leaders 5 External Link |
The NDP was created in 1961 as a merger between the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), headed at the time by Tommy Douglas, and the Canadian Labour Congress. This heritage is still reflected in the party's leadership conventions as labour votes are scaled to 25% of the total number of ballots cast.
Under the leadership of David Lewis, the NDP supported the minority government formed by Pierre Trudeau's Liberals from 1972 to 1974, although they never entered into an official coalition. Together they succeeded in passing many left-wing initiatives into law, including pension indexing and the creation of a nationalized oil and gas company, Petro-Canada.
The NDP also had an important role in the Joe Clark minority government of 1979-1980, often voting with the Conservatives, until they voted with the other opposition parties on a non-confidence motion over a proposed budget.
In terms of number of seats, the NDP reached its apogee with 44 MPs under Ed Broadbent in the election of 1988, however the Conservatives had a solid majority. Broadbent stepped down after 15 years as federal leader of the NDP in 1989, although he has recently returned from retirement to run as a representative for the riding of Ottawa-Centre, where he lives. This return is quite celebrated from within the membership of the party.
Under the leadership of Audrey McLaughlin -- the first woman to be leader of a national political party in Parliament -- and Alexa McDonough, the party underwent a decline. It briefly lost official party status due to a lack of MPs in Parliament after the 1993 election, gaining only 9 seats (12 are required by Canadian Law). This status was regained in the 1997 general election, when 21 New Democrats were elected.
The party embarked in a renewal process starting in 2000. A very active general convention in Winnipeg in November 2001 made significant alterations to certain party structures and reaffirmed its commitment to the left. This bore fruit in the May 2002 by-elections when Brian Masse won a formerly safe Liberal seat in the riding of Windsor West in Windsor, Ontario.
Alexa McDonough announced her resignation as party leader for family reasons in June 2002, and was succeeded by Jack Layton, a former Toronto city councillor. He was elected at the party's convention in Toronto on January 25, 2003, defeating his nearest rival, longtime MP Bill Blaikie, on the first ballot with 53.5% of the vote. Because Layton currently does not have a seat in the House of Commons, he has appointed Blaikie to fill that role on the floor of the House for the immediate future. In addition, a younger French Canadian candidate, Pierre Ducasse, gave such a stirring speech at the convention that it is hoped that he could be critical in gaining votes in Quebec where the party is typically weak.
The Party is currently favoured by an average of 15% in public opinion polls (an increase of 7% since the last election), and is very optimistic about its future. Recent polls show the NDP at 18% and in 2nd place, ahead of the new Conservative Party of Canada
Unlike other federal parties, the NDP is integrated with its provincial and territorial party, such that a member of the federal party is a member of the provincial or territorial party where he or she resides.
The only exceptions are Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, whose legislatures have no parties, and Quebec, where there is no provincial party. Instead, the party has an activist wing in Quebec (the Nouveau parti démocratique - Section Québec) which promotes the party's agenda in the province and works on federal elections there.
In the territories mentioned, the federal NDP is promoted by its riding associations, since each territory is composed of only one federal riding.
At the provincial level, the NDP is currently governing in Manitoba (Premier Gary Doer) and Saskatchewan (Premier Lorne Calvert).
As of February 2003, the NDP holds 14 seats in the House of Commons:
History
Provincial Structure
Provincial and territorial parties
Current Members of Parliament
Bill Blaikie, parliamentary leader
Joe Comartin
Libby Davies
Bev Desjarlais
Yvon Godin
Wendy Lill
Pat Martin
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Brian Masse
Alexa McDonough
Lorne Nystrom
Dick Proctor
Svend Robinson
Peter Stoffer
Judy Wascylycia-Leis
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Federal Leaders
External Link