New Democratic party

New Democratic Party Nouveau Parti démocratique
Leader	Jack Layton
President	Peggy Nash
Founded	June 17, 1961 Incorporated CCF and CLC
Headquarters	300 - 279 Laurier Avenue W Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J9
Ideology	Social democracy Democratic socialism Progressivism
International affiliation	Socialist International
Official colours	Orange and Green (unofficial)
Fiscal policy	Left-wing
Social policy	Left-wing
Website
www.ndp.ca
Politics of Canada Political parties Elections

The New Democratic Party (French: Nouveau Parti démocratique), commonly referred to as the NDP, is a social democratic political party in Canada. In the Canadian House of Commons, it holds a centre-left position in the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jack Layton. The Provincial NDP parties in Manitoba and Nova Scotia currently form the government, and provincial parties have previously formed governments in British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and in the Yukon.

Principles, policies and electoral achievement

The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots. While the party is secular and pluralistic, it has a longstanding relationship with the Christian left and the Social Gospel movement, particularly the United Church of Canada. However, the federal party has broadened to include concerns of the New Left, which advocates issues such as gay rights, peace, and environmental protection.

New Democrats today advocate, among other things

• Improve environmental protection
• National water safety standards
• Increasing corporate taxes^[1]
• Reducing poverty in Canada^[2]
• Human rights protection
• Expanded high-quality public transportation
• Expanded public health care including dental and prescription drug coverage
• Social assistance policies that reflects citizens' needs and assist their re-entry to the work force
• Gender equality and equal rights for gays, lesbians, and minorities
• Abolishing the Senate and ensuring more proportional representation^[3]
• Workers' rights including raising the minimum wage to at least keep up with the cost of living
• Aboriginal treaty, land, and constitutional rights
• A foreign policy that emphasizes diplomacy, peacekeeping and humanitarian aid instead of offensive military action
• Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• One wing is focused on ending the Canadian War on Drugs and legalizing recreational drugs^[4]

The NDP has never formed the federal government, but has at times wielded influence during federal minority governments, such as in the current 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 is a leading example, although he did not renew his membership in 2007. Similarly, current 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.

History

Provincial and territorial wings

Campaign sign for a federal NDP candidate in the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country, British Columbia

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 Paul Martin in the 2006 election.

There are three exceptions. In Nunavut and in the Northwest Territories, whose territorial legislatures have no parties, the federal NDP is promoted by its riding associations, since each territory is composed of only one federal riding.

In Quebec, the Quebec New Democratic Party 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,^[5] 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 Cooperative 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 there. 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. This is a trend that continued in the 2006 federal election, and yet again in the 2008 federal election. The New Democratic Party has also formed government in Manitoba, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario and in Yukon.

Current members of Parliament

Broadbent and Jack Layton at a 2008 election rally in Toronto

The election of October 14, 2008, gave the NDP 37 seats; Twelve of its MPs are women; after the general election this represented 32% of its seats (down from 41% in 2006 where it had the highest proportion of women that has ever existed in a Canadian parliamentary caucus with official party status.) For a list of NDP MPs and their critic portfolios, see New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet.

Senator Lillian Dyck initially chose to associate herself with the NDP upon her appointment to the Senate in 2005. However the party did not allow her to be part of the parliamentary caucus, as the NDP favours the abolition of the Canadian Senate. Dyck sat in the Senate as an Independent New Democrat from March 24, 2005 until January 15, 2009, when she joined the Liberal Party caucus.

40th Parliament - Currently sitting members

• Malcolm Allen, Welland (ON)
• Charlie Angus, Timmins—James Bay (ON)
• Niki Ashton, Churchill (MB)
• Alex Atamanenko, British Columbia Southern Interior (BC)
• Dennis Bevington, Western Arctic (NT)
• Chris Charlton, Hamilton Mountain (ON)
• Olivia Chow, Trinity—Spadina (ON)
• David Christopherson, Hamilton Centre (ON)
• Joe Comartin, Windsor—Tecumseh (ON)
• Jean Crowder, Nanaimo—Cowichan (BC)
• Nathan Cullen, Skeena—Bulkley Valley (BC)
• Don Davies, Vancouver Kingsway (BC)
• Libby Davies, Vancouver East (BC)
• Paul Dewar, Ottawa Centre (ON)
• Linda Duncan, Edmonton—Strathcona (AB)
• Yvon Godin, Acadie—Bathurst (NB)
• Claude Gravelle, Nickel Belt (ON)
• Jack Harris, St. John's East (NL)
• Carol Hughes, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing (ON)
• Bruce Hyer, Thunder Bay—Superior North (ON)
• Peter Julian, Burnaby—New Westminster (BC)
• Jack Layton, Toronto—Danforth (ON)
• Megan Leslie, Halifax (NS)
• Jim Maloway, Elmwood—Transcona (MB)
• Wayne Marston, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (ON)
• Pat Martin, Winnipeg Centre (MB)
• Tony Martin, Sault Ste. Marie (ON)
• Brian Masse, Windsor West (ON)
• Irene Mathyssen, London—Fanshawe (ON)
• Thomas Mulcair, Outremont (QC)
• John Rafferty, Thunder Bay—Rainy River (ON)
• Denise Savoie, Victoria (BC)
• Bill Siksay, Burnaby—Douglas (BC)
• Peter Stoffer, Sackville—Eastern Shore (NS)
• Glenn Thibeault, Sudbury (ON)
• Judy Wasylycia-Leis, Winnipeg North (MB)

Federal leaders

#	Picture	Leader	From	To	Birth	Death	Ridings while leader
1		Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas	August 3, 1961	April 23, 1971	October 20, 1904	February 24, 1986	Burnaby—Coquitlam, Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands, BC
2		David Lewis	April 24, 1971	July 6, 1975	June 23, 1909	May 23, 1981	York South, ON
3		John Edward "Ed" Broadbent	July 7, 1975	December 4, 1989	March 21, 1936	-	Oshawa—Whitby, Oshawa, ON
4		Audrey Marlene McLaughlin	December 5, 1989	October 13, 1995	November 7, 1936	-	Yukon, YK
5		Alexa Ann McDonough	October 14, 1995	January 24, 2003	August 11, 1944	-	Halifax, NS
6		John Gilbert "Jack" Layton	January 25, 2003	-	July 18, 1950	-	Toronto—Danforth, ON

Federal election results 1962–2008

Highest values are bolded

See also

• List of political parties in Canada
• New Democratic Party leadership conventions
• NDP Socialist Caucus
• New Democratic Party candidates, 2008 Canadian federal election
• New Democratic Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election
• New Democratic Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal election
• New Democratic Party candidates, 2000 Canadian federal election
• New Democratic Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election
• New Democratic Party candidates, 1993 Canadian federal election
• New Democratic Party candidates, 1988 Canadian federal election
• Douglas-Coldwell Foundation
• New Politics Initiative
• Regina Manifesto
• Manifesto for an Independent Socialist Canada
• Metro New Democratic Party - Municipal NDP in Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s
• Young New Democrats
• 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
• List of notable NDP supporters

References

External links

• New Democratic Party
• Nouveau Parti Démocratique
• Quebec section of the federal NDP
• Alex Ng's NDP links page
• NDP Constitution
• New Democratic Party of Canada channel at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
• NDP Campaign Platform, 2008

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